Chapter 115
As soon as Baek Mu-Gun returned to the Baek Sword Sect, he immediately met up with Baek Cheon-Sang.
“Welcome back.”
“How have you been?”
“I’ve only been staying at home, so what could possibly happen? I heard about your achievements from Mu-Ok. Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re truly amazing. Putting aside the Changjiang Waterway Alliance, you even destroyed the Four Seas Gang by yourself.”
“I didn’t do it alone. I had the venerable elder’s help.”
“Still, wasn’t it you who sank the pirate ships and eliminated the martial arts masters of the Four Seas Gang and the Nine Celestial Demons Sect? I did not expect the Heavenly Sea Waves Saber Art to be able to exert such tremendous power.”
“Since you have learned the Heavenly Sea Goliath Cultivation, you will be able to exert even greater power from it than I did, Father.”
“Are you serious?”
“Once you have fully mastered the Heavenly Sea Goliath Cultivation and the Heavenly Sea Waves Saber Art, you’ll be capable of obliterating entire coastal cities.”
“Although I would never commit such an atrocity, it would be astounding to at least have the capacity to do such a feat.”
“The Heavenly Sea God Sect’s successor is called the God of the Sea for a reason.”
“What you just said made me realize I should put more effort into practising the Heavenly Sea God Sect’s martial arts.”
“You’re already doing good enough. However, as the Baek Sword Sect’s patriarch and the Zhejiang Martial Alliance’s leader, you have to become even more powerful.”
“You’re right. I will work harder so that my son will not be ashamed of me.”
“Even if you don’t, I am already very proud of you, Father.”
“That aside, I heard you transported five hundred thousand silver nyangs through the Eun Merchant Group. Where did that money come from?”
“We went to withdraw the money that Venerable Elder Hwang Rei had left at the East Lake Vault.”
Mu-Gun borrowed Hwang Rei’s name since he couldn’t reveal the truth behind the source of the money. It wasn’t a problem, though, since he had spoken to Hwang Rei about this earlier.
“It’s from Venerable Elder Hwang Rei?” Cheon-Sang, surprised.
“Yes. Venerable Elder Hwang Rei has kept the money in the East Lake Vault for thirty years already, but he has decided to use it now for the Baek Sword Sect.”
“What do you mean by that? We’re not talking about just a penny or two here. We can’t just accept five hundred thousand nyang.”
“That’s what I said as well, but Venerable Elder Hwang Rei just told me to use it without worry since even if he kept it, he would have no use for it anyway. He didn’t even have a successor to leave an inheritance to. Considering he wholeheartedly made this donation, it would be best to accept it with a grateful heart.”
“Even so—”
“I don’t think it’s polite to refuse Venerable Elder Hwang Rei’s kind gesture. With the money that he has entrusted to us, he hopes that the Baek Sword Sect and the Zhejiang Martial Alliance will grow into a force strong enough to protect murim. Accomplishing that would definitely satisfy him.”
“Okay. I’ll go see Venerable Elder Hwang Rei and thank him in person.”
“Understood.”
“Go and rest for today. Let’s talk about everything in more detail tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
After meeting Cheon-Sang, Mu-Gun returned to his residence, took a bath, and changed into a set of fresh clean clothes. Afterward, he left the Baek Sword Sect and headed to the Flower Honor Manor to visit Dan Seol-Young. Although Cheon-Sang told him to rest, Mu-Gun was not tired at all even after his long journey. He didn’t need a break. Rather, he desired to meet Seol-Young and make love to her far more than rest.
Counting his previous lives as well, Mu-Gun had lived hundreds of years. Even so, he had neither lost his sexual desires nor had any intention to. A man should refrain from indiscriminate adultery, but it was extremely natural for a man to share affection with the woman he loved. There was absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Upon arriving at the Flower Honor Manor, Mu-Gun briefly greeted Seol-Young, whom he had not seen in a long time, and immediately made love to her. After orgasming a few times, they cuddled up on the bed.
“I heard that you have become quite close to Lady Namgung...” Seol-Young, who pillowed her head on Mu-Gun’s arm, carefully said.
“Didn’t you say you don’t care if I met another woman?”
“But shouldn’t I at least know what kind of relationship you have with her?”
“It’s the same relationship I have with you,” Mu-Gun spoke frankly.
“So my guess was right after all.”
“You don’t look happy.”
“Both Lady So and Lady Namgung have amazing backgrounds. Unlike them, I don’t have an impressive status or history. It makes me wonder if it’s okay for me to be next to you.”
“What’s wrong with your status? You are the vice leader of the Heavenly Secret Hall, the best intelligence syndicate in the Central Plains. You are not any worse than the other two, so stop having that sort of inferiority complex, got it?”
“Okay.”
Seol-Young smiled and hugged Mu-Gun tightly. It didn’t matter that he had a new woman named Namgung Hyun-Ah. His love for her was still the same.
* * *
The clan hall of the Invincible Clan.
Invincible Clan Patriarch So Geuk-Sang looked baffled, having just heard the news that the Four Seas Gang was wiped out and that only four of the Four Seas’ Ten Great Warships survived. However, he found it more ridiculous that the Four Seas Gang’s leader, the Heavenly Killer Sect’s Dark Sky Demonic Monarch, and the Invincible Clan’s Blood Sword Demonic Monarch, had all been killed as well.
“Didn’t you say that only the Nine Dragons Fist, the Baek Sword Sect’s Young Patriarch, and two hundred Baek Sword Sect and Justice Martial Sect martial artists fought in that battle?” Geuk-Sang asked the middle-aged man standing in front of him, clearly dumbfounded by the situation.
“That’s right,” the middle-aged man, Vice Patriarch Neung Mong-Hon, replied. He was also known as the Spirit Manifestation Demonic Monarch of the Invincible Clan’s Eight Great Demonic Monarchs.
“And yet according to your report, they still managed to kill the leader of the Four Seas Gang, the two Demonic Monarchs, and a hundred Higher Demons? Is that even possible?”
“Well, according to the surviving Four Seas Gang pirates, the Baek Sword Sect’s Young Patriarch summoned a tsunami and sank their ship.”
“He... summoned a tsunami? Is he some sort of Sea God or something? How can he summon a tsunami?” Geuk-Sang asked in bewilderment.
“It seems the Baek Sword Sect’s Young Patriarch has learned the Heavenly Sea God Sect’s martial arts. Although the Heavenly Sea God Sect’s martial art is already strong on its own, it is known to exert unparalleled power on the sea. That seems to be the reason why the Baek Sword Sect’s Young Patriarch can create tsunamis.”
“What use do I have for that information now? You should have delved deeper into who he is before attacking him! There’s no point trying to explain an irreversible incident!”
“I’m sorry.” Mong-Hon bowed at Geuk-Sang’s fury.
“Saying sorry doesn’t put an end to this situation. We lost the Four Seas Gang after working so hard to get them. What do you plan to do about this?”
“We haven’t lost all the Four Seas Gang’s forces yet. We still have four of the ten warships.”
“What can we even do with just those? Can we even destroy a small or medium-sized sect with their numbers?”
“If we let them consume our recently developed Soul-Burning Invincibility Pill, even the remaining forces of the Four Seas Gang would be able to showcase great strength.”
As its name suggested, the Soul-Burning Invincibility Pill was a pill that, when consumed, burned the soul in exchange for unparalleled power. However, in reality, it was a demonic pill that consumed one’s Innate True Qi to amplify the user’s internal energy and increase their martial prowess. If one were to take the Soul-Burning Invincibility Pill, they would be able to display martial prowess at a higher level than they were actually capable of.
However, the price in exchange for that was death. Upon consuming the Soul-Burning Invincibility Pill, one would only have ten days left to live at most, assuming they did not use martial arts in that time span. The more they used their martial arts, the less time they had. If they executed martial arts techniques to their fullest capacity, they could even die in less than an hour.
After researching and developing the Soul-Burning Invincibility Pill for several generations, the Invincible Clan finally completed the secret recipe for it just recently. If they made the surviving Four Seas Gang members consume it, they would obtain power comparable to the forces that the Four Seas Gang had before they were annihilated. They wouldn’t survive any longer than ten days, but from the Invincible Clan’s standpoint, the Four Seas Gang was now expendable anyway. The best use they had for its members was to increase their power through the Soul-Burning Invincibility Pill and make them work toward the Invincible Clan’s objectives.
“Good point! We do have the Soul-Burning Invincibility Pill. If I knew this would happen, I would have made sure the Four Seas Gang survived.”
“Nobody could have predicted that we’d complete it so quickly.”
“How long will it take to make enough Soul-Burning Invincibility Pill for the Four Seas Gang pirates?”
“Considering we would have to prepare the materials and concoct the pill, at least three months.”
“Three months is too long. Have all of it ready in two months.”
“Understood.”
In the Invincible Clan, Geuk-Sang’s words were the law. Mong-Hon followed his orders without any complaints.
“As soon as the pills are ready, we will attack the Baek Sword Sect.”
“You want to attack the Baek Sword Sect?”
“The Baek Sword Sect’s Young Patriarch annihilated the Four Seas Gang and killed the Blood Sword Demonic Monarch and his Higher Demons. An eye for an eye, right?”
“That’s true, but at full power, the Baek Sword Sect isn’t just your run-off-the-mill forces. They have six Absolute Realm masters: their Patriarch, Young Patriarch, and the Four Peerless Wanderers, who recently joined their sect as venerable elders. Even with the Soul-Burning Invincibility Pill, the Four Seas Gang will have trouble eradicating the Baek Sword Sect. For us to win, we’ll have to send at least three Demonic Monarchs with them.”
“We can do that, then. What’s the problem?”
“Though it’s highly unlikely, the three Demonic Monarchs meeting a bad ending can disrupt our great cause.”
“If you put it that way, then there is basically nothing we can do. Still, the martial prowess of their Young Patriarch concerns me. That bastard has reached the Absolute Realm at the tender age of twenty-three. We don’t know how much more he will grow in the future. He needs to be eliminated before he grows any stronger.”
“How about we attack the Baek Sword Sect along with the Changjiang Waterway Alliance and the Seventy-Two Strongholds of Lulin instead? The Blood-Crazed Clan and the Myriad Tribulations Clan will surely cooperate, considering they also have a grudge against that man.”
“Why don’t we give the Changjiang Waterway Alliance’s thieves and the Seventy-Two Strongholds of Lulin’s bandits Soul-Burning Invincibility Pills too?”
“That would be the icing on the cake, but it will take half a year to prepare enough pills for them as well.”
Geuk-Sang pondered for a moment. He was an impatient man, so half a year was already too long for him. However, now that they had decided to go through with it, it would be best to guarantee their success. If all three outlaw groups consumed the Soul-Burning Invincibility Pill, they would be able to wipe out the entire Zhejiang Martial Alliance, including the Baek Sword Sect.
However, he thought it was a waste to mobilize that large of a force just to eliminate the Baek Sword Sect and the Zhejiang Martial Alliance. If the three outlaw groups’ elite members consumed a Soul-Burning Invincibility Pill, they would likely be able to destroy even the Great Namgung Family, one of the Seven Great Families. Although the Baek Sword Sect’s Young Patriarch was outstanding, Geuk-Sang doubted he would become a Supreme Realm master that fast. Hence, he thought the Nine Celestial Demons Sect’s great cause would benefit much more from eliminating the Great Namgung Family, the head of the Seven Great Families.
“Fine. I’ll give you half a year. Prepare enough Soul-Burning Invincibility Pill for all three outlaw groups. However, we will no longer be attacking the Baek Sword Sect. Rather, our target will be the Great Namgung Family.”
“The Great Namgung Family?”
“Our men can only consume the Soul-Burning Invincibility Pills once. Taking that into consideration, shouldn’t we choose the option that will benefit us the most? It will be much more beneficial for the Nine Celestial Demons Sect’s grand mission to eliminate the Great Namgung Family than the Baek Sword Sect. If we successfully manage to take them down, murim will suffer detrimental mental damage.”
“You’re absolutely right, Patriarch.”
“Be sure to inform the Blood-Crazed Clan and the Myriad Tribulations Clan of our plans and get their cooperation. They shouldn’t recklessly mobilize their forces before we have secured enough Soul-Burning Invincibility Pills for everyone.”
“Understood.”
As instructed, Mong-Hon contacted the Blood-Crazed Clan and the Myriad Tribulations Clan and informed them about the Soul-Burning Invincibility Pills and their plan to make the three outlaw groups join forces and attack the Great Namgung Family. The Blood-Crazed Clan and the Myriad Tribulations Clan gladly accepted the proposal.
The Four Seas Gang aside, the forces of the Changjiang Waterway Alliance and the Seventy-Two Strongholds of Lulin had also greatly weakened. With their current forces, it would be difficult to accomplish anything in murim. They would lose all their members if they consumed Soul-Burning Invincibility Pills, but it would be a well-worth sacrifice since they would be able to annihilate the Great Namgung Family, which had the strongest forces even among the Seven Great Families.
Since the righteous sect alliance was currently trying to overthrow the Changjiang Waterway Alliance and the Seventy-Two Strongholds of Lulin, the Blood-Crazed Clan and the Myriad Tribulations Clan secretly sent those outlaw groups’ elite members to Black Spirit Island, an uncharted island that served as the headquarters of the Four Seas Gang, to conserve their forces. The three outlaw groups’ elites then focused on their martial arts training until the Soul-Burning Invincibility Pill was completed.
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