Chapter 339 – When Heart Reaches Its Peak, Heaven Moves (2)

The leader martial artist's eyes trembled faintly. Behind the mask, his face was rigidly tense.

At his feet lay Nam Woo-saeng, the Azure Sky Escort Agency's head escort, severely injured. Nam Woo-saeng's martial prowess was significantly inferior to his own. But Nam Woo-saeng was an owner of tenacity and fighting spirit who never surrendered easily.

He supplemented his insufficient martial arts with willpower, and with all his strength, managed to get past three martial artists to reach the leader. Nam Woo-saeng briefly restrained the leader, and in that short moment, Dam Ho slaughtered the subordinates.

It was only after the leader martial artist defeated Nam Woo-saeng that all his subordinates were annihilated.

"Kreeeak!"

Nam Woo-saeng lay at his feet, groaning despite his severe injuries, but he was already no longer of the leader's concern.

"How dare!"

Terrifying murderous light exploded from the leader martial artist's eyes. The subordinates who fell to Dam Ho were those he had spent long years carefully cultivating.

They were more like disciples than subordinates. He had built up considerable affection. Their deaths greatly amplified the leader's killing intent.

"Fist Demon!"

He walked toward Dam Ho.

Dam Ho also walked toward him.

The leader martial artist's voice turned hoarse:

"Do you know what you've just done?"

Dam Ho stared silently at the leader martial artist. The leader's eyes became even fiercer.

"How dare you, to kill my disciples…"

"Jin Gung-ja."

"……"

"Right?"

Suddenly the leader martial artist's body trembled as if struck by lightning. It was completely unexpected.

The killing intent that had been exploding from the leader martial artist's eyes suddenly subsided like cooling water. The air about to erupt froze coldly. At the center was the leader martial artist himself.

Dam Ho carefully observed the changes in the leader martial artist.

The leader didn't answer. But Dam Ho thought he had already heard the answer.

The leader's gaze, breathing, and skin responses all spoke to that.

Suddenly, silence descended.

The leader martial artist stood still and didn't move. Dam Ho didn't move either.

The fierce world came to a halt.

There, in the center, stood the leader martial artist and Dam Ho.

It was the leader martial artist who spoke first:

"How did you know?"

The words admitted that he was Jin Gung-ja.

Dam Ho's eyes sank deeply.

He had suspected, but hearing the truth directly from the other's mouth carried different impact.

If the other was truly Jin Gung-ja, he would be from a generation before Master Hyeon-so. He would be from the same era as Cheon Gung-ja, Master Hyeon-so's master and the previous Mount Hua Supreme Sword.

That meant he was Dam Ho's martial uncle.

"You were the one who ambushed at Danli too, weren't you?"

"How much do you know?"

Jin Gung-ja's voice sank coldly.

He was the one who ambushed Wind Moon Emperor Dan Gong-wol in the village where the Heavenly Evil Cult's altar stood, and he was also the one who launched a surprise attack on Dam Ho.

Dam Ho hadn't forgotten those memories. He remembered his footsteps, his feeling, his gaze, his breathing, everything.

"I won't ask why. I won't ask why one who led a death squad to ambush the Demon Cult's main branch defected and joined the Heavenly Evil Cult."

"Infinite Buddhas!"

Unconsciously, a Buddhist prayer escaped Jin Gung-ja's lips.

Dam Ho walked toward him again.

"But today I'll kill you."

"Even knowing I'm Jin Gung-ja?"

"That's exactly why I'm killing you. You're already a person who doesn't exist. If it becomes known you're alive, Master and Mount Hua would be shaken."

"Hmph!"

Jin Gung-ja let out a quiet sigh and removed his mask. Then a clear face was revealed. Distinct features and eyes gleaming with mystery, and hair and beard tinged with blue-green radiance added to the mystique.

Though Jin Gung-ja was from a generation before Master Hyeon-so, he actually looked younger than him.

He was Jin Gung-ja, a disciple of Cheon Gung-ja, the previous Mount Hua Supreme Sword, and an outstanding swordmaster.

A member of the death squad and the pride of Mount Hua Sect. He now stood as an enemy facing Dam Ho.

Jin Gung-ja's gaze shifted from Dam Ho to the dead subordinates.

"After all, they were practically your martial brothers and sisters. They too had learned Mount Hua martial arts."

"Bullshit."

"Though just scratching the surface, they learned the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword. Could they really be considered different from you? You killed such children."

"Even sophistry has standards."

"How did someone as rigid as Hyeon-so produce an absolute tyrant like you? Hyeon-so was never so unyielding."

"Don't soil Master's name with that filthy mouth."

"Like it or not, I become your martial uncle. Ho."

"Are you done talking?"

"Ha! Indeed, truly unreasonable. Very well. I won't try to persuade you further. But understand this one thing. All that I do now, you won't understand, but it's all for Mount Hua Sect. Someday you too will realize this truth."

"That day will never come."

Dam Ho answered decisively.

At such uncompromising firmness, Jin Gung-ja flinched.

His gaze toward Dam Ho held reverence.

'How did such a monster appear in Mount Hua?'

The Mount Hua he remembered was a place of elegance and leisure. Their spirit pierced heaven but wasn't tyrannic.

Even Cheon Gung-ja, the senior he most respected, though his martial prowess was among the world's finest, lacked this tyrannic nature.

If only he had more time, if only he didn't have his assigned mission, he wished to speak more with Dam Ho. Unfortunately, however, the time given to him wasn't abundant.

"Finally asking, what's your position in the Heavenly Evil Cult?"

"One of the Five Evils, young one."

"Five Evils?"

"That's all I can tell you. The rest you must discover through your own strength."

Swish!

Jin Gung-ja drew his sword.

Suddenly, the energy barrier surrounding Dam Ho and Jin Gung-ja vanished without trace. While conversing with Dam Ho, he had used the energy barrier to block sound waves. That's why Nam Woo-saeng and the survivors couldn't hear their conversation at all.

Jin Gung-ja raised his sword toward Dam Ho. Dam Ho recognized that his basic sword posture was the Primordial Pure Sword Method, one of Mount Hua's supreme sword techniques.

Only those of elder rank or above could learn this Mount Hua fundamental secret art…

Though Jin Gung-ja had joined the Heavenly Evil Cult for some reason, his roots remained Mount Hua. Therefore, his most confident martial art was also Mount Hua's supreme technique, the Primordial Pure Sword Method. However, it had been modified by integrating his own insights, becoming unrecognizable in its original form.

"Come then. You're still a senior from my lineage, so I'll give you three seconds."

CRASH!

At that moment, Dam Ho struck the ground with his answer.

A deep footprint was left where he struck. The trace of deploying his charging technique.

Dam Ho rushed toward Jin Gung-ja.

Kwaaaaa!

Before his body even arrived, tremendous pressure bore down on Jin Gung-ja.

Jin Gung-ja's pupils shook.

Like pressure from the deep sea, it constricted his entire body. And Dam Ho's fist flew toward his forehead.

'Three seconds generous? Insane!'

He regretted his words spoken just moments before.

Dam Ho wasn't an opponent he could match even giving first strike advantage. He cast aside pride and wielded his sword to attack Dam Ho.

Zzzzang!

His sword and Dam Ho's fist clashed in midair. In an instant, Jin Gung-ja's sword bent like a bow.

Twang!

The sword that had bent to its limit returned to its original shape, flinging Jin Gung-ja backward. Jin Gung-ja deployed the Dark Fragrance Step to regain balance.

At that moment, Dam Ho rushed at him.

Straight-line charging technique, Destructive Pursuit.

Like a charging bull, Dam Ho's momentum crashed toward Jin Gung-ja, who deployed the Primordial Pure Sword Method's absolute technique.

Swish swish swish!

Rain-like sword energy fell toward Dam Ho. But before the sword energy could even reach Dam Ho's body, it was swept away by violent energy and disappeared without trace. He deployed the Violent Demon Energy.

Following that came the Explosive Demon Strike.

CRASH!

"Ughm!"

A stifled groan escaped Jin Gung-ja's lips.

Though his sword blocked and absorbed most of the shock, tremendous force pierced through his entire body. But like a master of his level, he endured the pain and deployed the Swordsaint Blood Spirit Technique.

Suddenly, Dam Ho was engulfed by crimson blood mist.

Dam Ho's eyes trembled faintly as the blood mist covered him.

Within the crimson haze, countless shadows rose. Pale faces as if not of this world and blood-stained bodies.

The already dead, vengeful spirits.

Dam Ho's eyes narrowed.

The faces of the vengeful spirits surrounding him were familiar.

Namgung Su, Cheon Oh-gyeong, Tang Sa-il, Sa Woo-yeon… All were people he had killed. They appeared as vengeful spirits before Dam Ho's eyes.

Uuuung!

They hurled curses at Dam Ho. Hundreds and thousands cursing simultaneously. It was difficult even to comprehend. Instead, the air rippled.

Tremendous resentment poured down on Dam Ho.

It was a sight to make even the most courageous freeze in horror. Though not real but illusion, it was vivid enough that one couldn't resist.

At that moment, Dam Ho struck the ground with his fist. Energy condensed to its limit erupted in chain explosions through the earth.

Kwakwakwaboom!

Explosions radiating from Dam Ho's center spread in circles.

Everything swept by the explosion disappeared.

The vengeful spirits' curses too.

The deep crimson blood mist as well.

Gwak Family Fortress was a small-to-medium sect in southern Huguang.

Though the fortress had only about fifty members, it had been an orthodox sect established in the Changsha area for quite a long time.

However, today, Gwak Sang, the fortress lord of Gwak Family Fortress, stood with an unpleasant expression after gathering all the fortress members.

His son, young fortress lord Gwak Eung, also huffed with a flushed face. Gwak Eung held a letter in his hand and was angry.

“What insolent brats sent this kind of letter! How dare they tell our Gwak Family Fortress to clarify our position? And if we don’t, they’ll deliver righteous judgment to protect the spirit of orthodox martial world?”

Since its establishment, Gwak Family Fortress had consistently participated in orthodox events like the Orthodox-Heretic War and Demonic Cult War with its small number of members. For such a fortress, receiving this kind of letter was insulting in itself.

Gwak Sang said with a stern face.

“I heard strange groups have been roaming around Huguang causing disturbances lately, but I didn’t expect these bastards to come to our area too.”

“Exactly! Who do they think they are to dare tell us to declare our position or not!”

“Cherry Blossom Corps.”

“Cherry Blossom Corps? What’s that?”

“It’s an organization centered around children of martial families with all sorts of people joining. On the surface they claim to uphold orthodox righteousness, but they seem to be secretly receiving orders from the Righteous Alliance.”

“These trash…”

“Originally when the world becomes chaotic, treacherous people always run wild to secure their own gains. In times like this, you must keep your wits about you. Our Gwak Family Fortress can’t be torn apart by wolf-like creatures.”

That’s when it happened.

Bang! Bang bang bang!

Someone roughly pounded on Gwak Family Fortress’s estate gate.

“Is no one there!”

Bang bang bang.

They’re here!

Gwak Family Fortress warriors watched the main gate with sharp eyes.

Gwak Sang commanded.

“Open the gate.”

But before the warriors could open the gate, axe blades came through first, smashing the gate.

Bang! Crash! Crack.

For Gwak Family Fortress, this was an absurd situation. Breaking down the gate before it could even be opened!

“Such… such rude creatures…!”

Two young men smashed and tore down the gate with axes. Then dozens of young men rushed in through that opening, holding clubs in their hands.

Instantly it became a standoff between the young men and Gwak Family Fortress warriors.

The leading youth among those who rushed in shouted.

“We are the Cherry Blossom Corps protecting the spirit of orthodox martial world! Is Gwak Family Fortress ready to declare its position!”

Young fortress lord Gwak Eung pointed angrily in indignation.

“You insolent bastards! Where do you think this is to cause such chaos!”

Someone acquainted with Gwak Eung emerged from among the youths.

It was none other than a Zhuge family youth.

He shouted.

“Brother Gwak! We simply want to know Gwak Family Fortress’s thoughts! Does Gwak Family Fortress share our thoughts or differ? If you say you share them, nothing will happen. We’ll leave just like this!”

“We’ve lived as an orthodox sect in Changsha for generations. And we’re also members of the same Martial Alliance. But what position do you want us to declare?”

Other youths pressured them.

“Say whether you’ll follow Indestructible Heavenly Sword Hero Baek Li and be loyal to the Righteous Alliance, or if you still follow Taoist Haewol who joined hands with demonic cults!”

Instead of Gwak Eung whose face had turned red with anger, fortress lord Gwak Sang spoke.

“The Martial Alliance Leader has… never once ruled the martial world with personal interest. But joining hands with demonic cults – do you have evidence of that?”

The youths shouted.

“The evidence is Demonic Cult’s Enlightened Teacher Yelu Hwan who escaped from Guizhou branch! Taoist Haewol was hiding the Enlightened Teacher in the branch prison!”

Gwak Sang glared at the youths and answered.

“Guizhou branch leader Golden Merchant Hai Mak is Indestructible Heavenly Sword’s subordinate. He received bribes from poison sects in the past and helped clean up Guizhou medicine sects. And as you know, poison sects were in a cooperative relationship with Indestructible Heavenly Sword back then. So if you’re going to be suspicious, you should rightfully suspect Indestructible Heavenly Sword.”

The youths screamed.

“How dare you take the demonic cult’s side! As expected, you’re demonic cult lackeys wearing orthodox masks!”

“Look here, these young punks seem to see nothing! How dare you carelessly label innocent people as demonic cult lackeys!”

Gwak Sang shouted in anger.

“Reveal the affiliations and names of each of you! I’ll expose exactly what kinds of bastards commit such acts and announce it to the world!”

Besides the Zhuge family youth and a few others, there were no notable figures. The rest were unknown rabble brought from who knows where. There were even back-alley thugs among them.

But the youths didn’t respond to Gwak Sang’s words.

The Zhuge family youth shouted.

“Gwak Family Fortress has already fallen to demonic cults, so there’s no need to listen to his words anymore. Brothers!”

The Zhuge family youth raised his hand.

“Let’s clearly show the power of our Cherry Blossom Corps so that traitors who betray orthodox sects like Gwak Family Fortress never appear again!”

The youths rushed at Gwak Family Fortress warriors without discrimination.

“Waaaaah!”

“Waaaaah!”

Fighting began.

More youths poured in like a tide through the broken main gate, holding clubs.

Smoke rose from Gwak Family Fortress’s estate.

Mang Ryo sat in a sedan chair, looking down at the scene with satisfaction.

Sim Hak, sitting beside him, looked worried and kept glancing outside through the curtain.

“Is it really okay to do this? Gwak Family Fortress is an established power in this region. There’s no way Gwak Family Fortress would join our side after suffering such humiliation.”

This was the part Sim Hak couldn’t understand. It wasn’t about completely destroying Gwak Family Fortress. The purpose was beating, plundering, and destroying. Even if casualties occurred in the process, there was no need to kill them all.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Even if not Gwak Family Fortress, other bastards will get scared and join us. It doesn’t matter if we leave some potential trouble. Later when we become the mainstream, we can sweep them all away at once.”

“But if it’s revealed that we’re behind Cherry Blossom Corps…”

“Everyone probably already knows. That’s exactly where the beauty of this affair lies. Everyone knows, but they can’t bring themselves to ask about it openly. If anyone asks, say you don’t know. Say what can we do when they step forward burning with righteous indignation on their own.”

“But…”

“I told you not to worry. Quite a few have already stepped forward to join Cherry Blossom Corps, haven’t they?”

“Well… they say it’s already over two thousand. At this rate, it seems we’ll easily fill ten thousand within this month.”

The youth organization Cherry Blossom Corps that started in Huguang spread throughout Central Plains in an instant. It began with the rallying cry that young blood should step forward instead of staying still during the martial world’s chaos.

Mang Ryo chuckled.

“Blocked paths to success because of those from prestigious families and sects. Resentment and anger built up in their hearts. Desire for success. We lit fire in those blocked hearts, so it won’t be extinguished for a while.”

“But the problem is all those rabble of unknown origins flocking together. A few days ago there was even an incident of raping daughters and female disciples of a small sect in Shanxi.”

“Really? They’re doing very well!”

“Is this something to laugh about?”

“Though we put children of prestigious families in front, we actually gathered bandits, thieves, thugs, underworld characters, and all sorts of people, so such incidents are bound to happen.”

Mang Ryo laughed even louder.

“The more it’s known, the dirtier it becomes, the better. It would be even better if it becomes such a dirty cesspit that people are reluctant even to touch it. If you threaten with a sword, they’ll resist with a sword, but if you pour shit on them, they’ll avoid it. Then even if they don’t want to be swept up in dirty things, they’ll at least pretend to join our side. That’s the purpose of moving Cherry Blossom Corps.”

“Hmm…”

“Anyway, after it’s over, buy those kids some food and give them some money. They need to get something to eat to have strength to run around as lackeys.”

“Understood.”

“And I’ve prepared pretty children at the brothel from last time, so Military Advisor Sim should also relax and enjoy yourself. I have somewhere to go, so I’ll be away for a bit.”

* * *

Martial Alliance in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province.

Alliance Leader Taoist Haewol still remained secluded without appearing, and each sect and family lost their center and split apart, so the Martial Alliance had essentially lost its function.

But it still maintained its standing as a gathering representing orthodox martial world.

In the conference room of the great hall there, heated accusations continued.

The Namgung family, Wudang Sect, and Guangdong families protested loudly.

“Does this make any sense at all?”

“They say young ones calling themselves Cherry Blossom Corps or whatever are swarming around Central Plains committing all sorts of evil acts. Plunder, arson… even acts too terrible to mention!”

“If you have mouths, try making some excuse!”

Facing the pouring criticism, Mount Hua Sect, Kongtong Sect, and Zhuge family sitting on the opposite side of the long table got angry instead.

“Enough.”

“When even young children have stepped forward to protect orthodox martial world’s justice, instead of encouraging them, why are you criticizing them?”

“Even young children think so much about the martial world’s future, yet you’re still busy taking the demonic cult’s side!”

Namgung family asked sharply.

“They say they threaten people to follow the Justice Association or pledge loyalty to Hero Baek Li, how could those be ordinary young friends?”

Hwangbo family on the opposite side threw a tantrum.

“So what if they’re not ordinary? Isn’t their patriotic heart thinking about the martial world admirable? You who can’t understand such hearts are more suspicious!”

Wudang Sect interjected.

“No need for many words. I’ll ask just one thing to the party responsible for this situation. How far has Hero Baek Li been involved in this incident?”

At those words, everyone in the great hall looked at Baek Li-jung. Baek Li-jung, who had been silently listening until then, opened his mouth for the first time.

“I know absolutely nothing about this.”

As if waiting, those supporting Baek Li-jung each spoke up.

“See!”

“Don’t try to carelessly drag just anyone into this!”

“If you too have hearts that think of orthodoxy, stop instigating division and cooperate with us. Thus returning the Martial Alliance to normal is the proper order!”

The opposite side also countered.

“You’re the ones who created the Righteous Alliance or whatever and schemed for division!”

Rebuttals went back and forth again.

“Then how long will you leave the alliance leader position vacant? That’s exactly what the heterodox demonic groups eyeing the martial world most want!”

When talk came up about the alliance leader position, Namgung family sneered as if waiting.

“So that was your ultimate purpose after all. Who do you think is suitable for the alliance leader position?”

The Namgung family elder looked at Baek Li-jung.

“Answer directly yourself, Sword Pavilion Lord. Who do you think should be supported as the next alliance leader?”

All the figures from Baek Li-jung’s opposition watched Baek Li-jung intently. Their expressions showed they were firmly prepared to pounce if he made even one mistake.