Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 346 – The Rumor (1)

The Sichuan Tang Clan’s declaration of seclusion.

It was an inevitable decision due to a lack of alternatives, but the clan sought to delay the news from spreading as much as possible to preserve their pride as a martial arts family.

However, despite their efforts, word of the Sichuan Tang Clan’s seclusion spread rapidly throughout the Central Plains.

The Sichuan Tang Clan is a martial arts family composed of blood relatives.

Although they solidified their bloodline through connections with cadet branches and sub-clans, they did not completely exclude marriages with outsiders.

If a union greatly benefited the clan, they would establish blood alliances through marriage with renowned martial arts families.

As a result, there were some members within the Tang Clan who hailed from outside the family. No matter how much they tried to conceal it, some details of that day’s events inevitably leaked out.

-Flap flap!

The carrier pigeons they sent arrived at the intelligence divisions of each martial arts clan.

Since the messages were delivered by birds, distance was meaningless. In less than a fortnight, the news reached even the Righteous Alliance, the heart of the orthodox martial arts world.

Military and Intelligence Division of the Righteous Alliance Headquarters.

The head of this division is Zhuge Do-yang, the Righteous Alliance’s top military advisor.

Someone hurriedly entered his office.

Bang!

“Who dares… Oh! Vice Alliance Leader, it’s you!”

Zhuge Do-yang rose from his seat and cupped his hands in salute.

He wondered who would enter his office without permission, but it was the Righteous Alliance’s second-in-command, Vice Alliance Leader, Wae Tak-hyeon.

Considered one of the Eight Stars, the top masters of the current martial arts world, he was among the five most prominent experts within the Righteous Alliance.

Usually, he had an almost perpetual smile on his face, but his expression was far from pleasant at the moment.

“Is this true?”

Vice Alliance Leader Wae Tak-hyeon pushed a red scroll, a report, in front of Zhuge Do-yang.

Seeing this, Military Advisor Zhuge Do-yang sighed and spoke.

“Phew. I sent it as an urgent document, requesting swift action. Are you only reading it now?”

“Do you think this is the only urgent report I’ve received recently? If it’s something like this, you could have informed me directly.”

“I also had numerous matters to handle because of this. Moreover, I marked it as an urgent document that must be processed immediately, using a red scroll tied with a golden thread, did I not?”

“……..”

At Zhuge Do-yang’s words, Vice Alliance Leader Wae Tak-hyeon clicked his tongue and spoke in a conceding tone.

“…I understand. I understand. I failed to pay proper attention to it. But what is this shocking news? The Tang Clan has gone into seclusion?”

“It’s exactly as written in the report.”

“Exactly as written… Does it make sense for the Sichuan Tang Clan to admit defeat and go into seclusion because of a single person?”

Under normal circumstances, even an urgent report would not have reached the Intelligence Division.

However, this report could not be ignored.

The name mentioned in the report had appeared more than once.

There was one particular group affiliated with the Righteous Alliance that refrained from intervening in worldly affairs unless it was a special case.

It was none other than the Shaolin Temple of Mount Song.

The birthplace of orthodox martial arts and the center of the righteous martial arts world.

Shocking news arrived from Shaolin.

[Shaolin’s Hundred-and-Eight Arhat Formation defeated by a single martial artist.]

It was an extremely shocking piece of information.

Since the establishment of Shaolin, there had been only one instance of the Hundred-and-Eight Arhat Formation being defeated by a single person… or so he had heard, back in the Old Martial Arts Era.

However, that situation was different.

That individual was universally acknowledged as the Heaven’s First Sword by all martial artists.

Yet, such an event had occurred for a second time.

Moreover, the current Hundred-and-Eight Arhat Formation was renowned for having its weaknesses rectified and its power greatly enhanced after learning from the previous incident.

“…Cheonma (Heavenly Demon).”

That was the name given to the person who single-handedly shattered the Hundred-and-Eight Arhat Formation.

It was uncertain if this was his real name.

Heavenly Demon?

Who would give someone such a title?

It was a moniker that only deranged individuals walking the path of evil would adopt.

“Who exactly is this person?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know? Nothing at all?”

“I know nothing. Although it happened within Shaolin, the little information we have is thanks to the Embroidered Uniform Guards who entered.”

“No clues about his appearance, attire, or any hints about his affiliation with a particular group?”

“I heard he looks quite young.”

“Looks young?”

Vice Alliance Leader Wae Tak-hyeon clicked his tongue.

Once one reached a certain level of cultivation, outward appearance held no meaning.

Among those who had attained enlightenment, some underwent physical metamorphosis, regaining their youthful appearance.

The problem was the accurate description of his appearance.

“We must find him. This has gone beyond the point of simply ignoring it.”

Shattering Shaolin’s Hundred-and-Eight Arhat Formation with a single palm strike could be considered a display of his immense martial prowess.

However, the Sichuan Tang Clan’s seclusion was a different matter.

The Sichuan Tang Clan was a pillar of the Righteous Alliance and one of the Seven Great Clans of the martial arts world.

Their influence on the orthodox martial arts community was significant. They had declared a seclusion lasting a staggering sixty years.

The Tang Clan itself wielded considerable power, but now, the only group capable of countering the poisons and secret weapons of the evil sects was absent.

Military Advisor Zhuge Do-yang nodded in agreement.

“You are correct. From the moment he forced the Sichuan Tang Clan into seclusion, it became clear that this person is closer to an evil cult leader than a righteous martial artist.”

“Even his name or title, Cheonma, already suggests an evil cult leader. What’s more concerning is that there are already troublesome groups like the Heaven and Earth Society, the Four Evils Alliance, the Green Forest Faction, and the Janggang River Bandits…”

“This person’s emergence alone can disrupt the current balance of the martial arts world.”

“Disrupt the balance?”

In response to Vice Alliance Leader Wae Tak-hyeon’s question, Military Advisor Zhuge Do-yang spoke in a serious tone.

“The Heaven and Earth Society and the Four Evils Alliance have been quiet recently, and the evil sects lack a prominent central figure.”

“Central figure…”

“Yes. Any faction requires an exceptional leader. Such individuals are said to possess the qualities of a leader or the qualities of a hero.”

“Hero? Ha! Those wicked people from the evil sects, heroes?”

“At least to those who aspire to walk the path of evil, they will be perceived as heroes. He single-handedly shattered Shaolin’s reputation and forced the Sichuan Tang Clan into seclusion. Has there ever been someone so boldly brazen among the evil sects?”

“………”

At Zhuge Do-yang’s words, Vice Alliance Leader Wae Tak-hyeon’s expression grew even more grave.

Indeed, among the evil sect members, there had never been anyone who had made such a striking impact with just two actions.

“Vice Alliance Leader, this is not a matter we can overlook. This person is truly dangerous.”

“I am aware of that much. I will convene a meeting immediately.”

“Yes. Please hurry. The martial artists who have already heard the rumors are hailing him as a new heaven.”

“A new heaven? Don’t tell me…”

“Yes. Not the Sixth Heaven, but the Seventh Heaven.”

‘!!!!!!!’

The emergence of a new heaven, close to evil.

It was an ill omen for the dominant righteous factions and a ray of hope for the somewhat suppressed evil sects.

***

[…Although he has passed away, he was the lord I served, so I hope you’ll understand the way I address him.]

[I don’t really care about such things. Just continue with your story.]

[Very well. When the clan leader returned, there were even more red spots on his neck than usual. Seeing this, I knew that the clan leader had used the Formless Poison Art. It wasn’t something that would appear simply from training.]

The wounds visible on various parts of his body and the torn state of his clothing clearly indicated that he had been in a fierce battle.

[So?]

[At that time, I didn’t know that the person he had fought was Medicine Immortal Hae Yeong Jang Mun-no.]

[Of course you wouldn’t know, since he didn’t say anything.]

[Rather than that, based on the description of the person’s appearance provided by the clan leader, I thought it might have been Ghost Blade.]

‘!?’

Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes flickered with surprise.

An unexpected individual had been mentioned.

[Ghost Blade? What do you mean?]

[…The clan leader who returned ordered all the bodyguards, except for a few, to search for a corpse downstream of the valley. Although I’m not sure if the body would be intact, based on the attire he described and the broken sword, it was undoubtedly Ghost Blade.]

***

Mok Gyeong-un stroked his chin, his eyes slightly narrowed.

It was unexpected information.

Based on this, if he were to summarize, the first person his grandfather encountered was undoubtedly Tang Clan Leader Tang In-hae.

That bastard had come to kill his grandfather from the beginning.

By killing his grandfather, he aimed to take possession of a woman named Ye Song-ah, who had inherited the ability of prophecy.

After poisoning his grandfather with the Formless Poison, Tang Clan Leader Tang In-hae disappeared midway.

However, it seemed that the one who existed in that disappearance was none other than Ghost Blade.

[He was chasing someone.]

Those were the words spoken by Lee Gwang, the Second Realm of the Secret Society, who had dealt the final blow to his grandfather.

The person Ghost Blade was chasing was Tang Clan Leader Tang In-hae.

The two of them fought, and if the words of Tang In-hu, the leader of the bodyguards, were true, the victor was Tang In-hae.

“Hmm.”

Based on the uncertainty about the state of the corpse and the aftereffects of the red spots on the neck, Tang In-hae had used the Formless Poison Art on Ghost Blade.

Up to this point, it seemed that Ghost Blade had been killed by Tang In-hae.

However, none of the individuals associated with the Secret Society believed that Ghost Blade was dead.

‘Nearly half a year since that incident.’

No matter how secretive the Secret Society was, it was inconceivable that they would fail to notice the death of one of their executives for a whole six months.

This meant that the likelihood of Ghost Blade being alive had significantly increased.

‘Does that mean he endured the Formless Poison?’

Unexpected.

Unlike himself, a Poison Man whose blood was poison itself, Ghost Blade had no means to counter the Formless Poison.

Yet, by what means did he survive?

The more he learned about this person, the more questions arose.

He could say that he had avenged those who had directly killed his grandfather, but he had yet to capture the ones behind them.

To catch them, he still needed Ghost Blade.

‘…Is the Society Leader the answer after all?’

The deceased Lee Gwang had said that the Society Leader of the Heaven and Earth Society was the only one who could summon Ghost Blade.

For now, the Society Leader was the only way to make contact with the Secret Society, so he had no choice but to return to the Heaven and Earth Society.

His revenge was not over yet.

It would only end when he killed all those behind it.

-Clatter! Clatter!

Mok Gyeong-un was sitting inside a carriage.

There were two carriages in total.

One of them was the carriage that Tang Clan Leader Tang In-hae had tried to escape in, but Seop Chun and Mong Mu-yak had skillfully stolen it and were making good use of it.

They had divided the group into two. One carriage carried Ja Geum-jeong, Seop Chun, Mong Mu-yak, and Holy Fire Priestess, while the other carriage had Ma Ra-hyeon as the coachman, with Mok Gyeong-un, Ye Song-ah, who was still unconscious, and Eight Poison Snake Staff Guyang Sa-oh inside.

The reason Guyang Sa-oh was riding in this carriage was simple.

It was to detoxify the delicate poison that had affected Ye Song-ah’s brain.

Tang Clan Leader Tang In-hae had not only blocked her blood vessels but had also administered a delicate drug to her brain to ensure she would not wake up for a while, in case of any unforeseen circumstances.

As a result, she had been unable to regain consciousness for nearly a week.

However, starting from half a day ago, she had shown improvement due to Guyang Sa-oh’s detoxification efforts, and based on her occasional eye flutters, it seemed she would awaken soon.