Chapter 171
The Demon Slayer Battalion gathered at the Loyal Heart Alliance United Corps grand training hall. Baek Cheon-Sang and the Alliance's delegates sat at the seats of honor prepared in the southern area of the hall, giving them a clear view of the sparring stage set up in the center for the sparring competition between Squads One to Twelve.
After a fierce preliminary round, the First, Second, and Eleventh Demon Slayer Squads, comprised respectively of the Baek Sword Sects White Dragon Corps, the Winder Saber Sects Swift Wind Platoon, and the Sea Palace Sects Heavenly Might Corps, advanced to the final round. The Byeok Sword Manors Third Demon Slayer Squad, which had the strongest martial arts along with the Baek Sword Sect and the Wind Saber Sect, failed to reach the final round, having been defeated by the Baek Sword Sect in the second match. On the other hand, the Sea Palace Sect advanced to the final round because they got lucky in the preliminary matches.
The squads that advanced to the finals would compete in rotation, and the one with the highest win-lose ratio would be crowned the winner. Each squad picked ten people who had not participated yet, and the finals began not long after. In the end, the Baek Sword Sects First Demon Slayer Squad emerged as the victor with a total score of seven wins and three losses. The Wind Saber Sects Second Demon Slayer Squad had five wins and five losses, and the Sea Palace Sects Eleventh Demon Slayer Squad had a score of three wins and seven losses.
The sparring competition reward, the Hundred Herb Pills, was supposed to be given to the First Demon Slayer Squad, but Cheon-Sang decided to reward the Hundred Herb Pills to the Second Demon Slayer Squad instead. The Baek Sword Sect won, but rewarding themselves would be no different from giving something away just to take it back later. That could draw dissatisfaction from the other clans and dampen their motivation.
The other clans might even begin to lose their enthusiasm toward the sparring competition since the Baek Sword Sects First Demon Slayer Squad would win anyway, no matter how hard they tried, preventing the spiritual pills from ever reaching their hands. Moreover, rewarding the Hundred Herb Elixir to the First Demon Slayer Squad would also not fit the purpose of promoting the growth of the Loyal Heart Alliances forces as a whole.
Delighted for having been awarded the Hundred Herb Pills, Wind Saber Sect Patriarch Tae Gong-Pyo expressed his gratitude to Cheon-Sang. Meanwhile, the other patriarchs looked at Gong-Pyo with envy as they vowed to win the next sparring competition.
While the Demon Slayer Battalions first sparring competition was coming to a successful end, Baek Mu-Gun was busy sparring with the Baek Sword Sects martial arts masters. Aside from his regular sparring with the Six White Wolves and Cho Woo-Kyung, he also sparred with the seven wanderers and the three Sword Immortals at least once a week. To top it all off, Qiankun Hands Seok Gang, Daybreak Swordmaster Geom Woo-Saeng, and the Four Peerless Wanderers frequently requested to spar with him as well.
Mu-Gun already had a tight schedule with all that alone, but now, he also had to take care of the clans successors in the Latent Dragon Squadron.
It was no exaggeration to say that his day started and ended with a sparring match, but he did not find it annoying or difficult at all since he found it rewarding that they could grow because of him. Their skills visibly improved because he did not just spar with them but also enlightened them on their martial arts according to their level.
The seven wanderers had particularly remarkable growth. Compared to the orthodox martial artists such as the Nine Prominent Sects and the Seven Great Families, they relatively lacked martial arts enlightenment. However, Mu-Gun made up for their shortcomings, allowing their skills to improve rapidly.
The three Sword Immortals also learned a lot from their spars with Mu-Gun. The Nine Prominent Sects had accumulated various martial arts principles and enlightenment through their long and rich history. That was why they could constantly produce martial arts masters. Even the three Sword Immortals used those to supplement their growth.
However, that was not necessarily always a good thing. Clans like the Nine Prominent Sects were conservative. Hence, they often obtained martial arts principles and enlightenment and learned martial arts within a standardized framework. This gave them a stable path to the Absolute Realm but also made it extremely difficult to rise beyond that. To reach higher levels, the Nine Prominent Sects masters had to cast away that standardized framework and change their way of thinking. That was why the three Sword Immortals greatly benefited from sparring and exchanging martial arts views with Mu-Gun.
Throughout his numerous reincarnations, Mu-Gun learned martial arts without the limitations of formalities and gained enlightenment that was both flexible and free from any stereotypical form. Rather than just being used for one purpose, his enlightenment could be used for many.
By exchanging martial arts views with Mu-Gun, the three Sword Immortals saw things they could not even think of before and realized that what they knew and were enlightened about was not all there was to it. It broadened their horizons. If they could build their enlightenment up like Mu-Guns, they would be able to break down the wall blocking them from reaching a higher level.
Gaining hope that they could finally improve their stagnating martial realm, the three Sword Immortals began making plans to permanently settle down at the Baek Sword Sect. Considering they were some of the strongest Absolute Realm masters out there, the Baek Sword Sect found no reason to refuse.
Even though he was already busy with martial arts training and sparring, Mu-Gun still managed to put effort into expanding the Medicine King Familys medical clinics. Following the two branches in Wenzhou and Hangzhou, the Medicine King Family and the Baek Sword Sect decided to set up more branches in Zhejiang Province.
Building three different clinics at the same time would have cost the Baek Sword Sect quite a lot. Fortunately, the Loyal Heart Alliances other clans wanted the Shennong Clinic to open branches in their territories, having discovered that the Baek Sword Sects reputation noticeably improved when the Shennong Clinic became renowned in Wenzhou and Hangzhou. To that end, they were even willing to sponsor a fraction of the expenses.
After discussing it with the Medicine King Family, the Baek Sword Sect decided to open a branch in three locations: Jinhua, Ningbo, and Shaoxing, which was where the Alliances headquarters was. The Wind Saber Sect and the Mei Household, rulers of Jinhua and Ningbo respectively, sponsored half of the cost required to open a Shennong Clinic branch in their territory.
The amount of medicinal ingredients and materials needed increased with the number of Shennong Clinic branches, but Mu-Gun didnt have to worry since the Hangzhou Merchant Company and the Eun Merchant Group already had a distribution network for those. Rather, the real problem was that most of the doctors and pharmacists working at the Shennong Clinic were from the Medicine King Family. The more Shennong Clinic branches were built, the more people they had to deploy to the field. Such a large demand for manpower would inevitably disrupt the production of spiritual pills.
In fact, the Medicine King Family had already informed Mu-Gun about their desire to halve the quantity of the Heavenly Medicine Pills and Hundred Herb Pills that they promised to provide. Mu-Gun found it a pity, but he still respected their will. He was already very thankful for everything that the Medicine King Family gave him anyway, and it wasnt like they were completely cutting off the Baek Sword Sects supply. Hence, instead of complaining, he appreciated their efforts instead.
Despite his busy life, Mu-Gun did not forget to take care of Namgung Hyun-Ah and Dan Seol-Young. Even if he could not visit faraway places with them, he spent time visiting scenic places or watching performances with them. At night, he made sure to make love to them and work hard on getting a second generation. He was yet to succeed on the latter.
* * *
At the Asura Cults secret cave.
Groarrrr! Seob Wi-Muns terrifying shriek echoed in the Asura Cults secret cave as he grasped Heo Woon-Pils neck.
Woon-Pil struggled. He could neither breathe nor escape Wi-Muns clutches. Wi-Muns eyes were out of focus and glowing red, and he looked far from normal. The Asura Essence Extraction Art failed, and Wi-Mun disappeared. All that was left was a demonic monster who lost his soul and fell into the madness of slaughter.
Woon-Pil gave up trying to survive the moment Wi-Mun failed the Asura Essence Extraction Art. However, he began instinctively fighting for his life when Wi-Mun, who had lost his soul, started choking him.
Grrrr.
Wi-Mun let out a beast-like growl as he raised his other hand. Using it like a blade, he stabbed it into Woon-Pils chest and pierced through his heart with ease.
Kugh! Woon-Pil screamed and thrashed.
Wi-Mun took his hand out of Woon-Pils chest, now a throbbing blood-red heart in his palm. He raised the warm heart to his mouth and began to nonchalantly chew on it, causing blood to splatter all over him.
Through his fading consciousness, Woon-Pil witnessed Wi-Mun chewing his own heart. He should have done everything he could to stop Wi-Mun from performing the Asura Essence Extraction Art, but it was too late for regrets now. He could no longer reverse the consequences of their actions.
Even as he lost consciousness and breathed his last, Woon-Pil kept hoping that Wi-Mun would turn murim and the righteous factions upside down for the sake of the Nine Celestial Demons Sects great mission.
Having eaten Woon-Pils entire heart, Wi-Mun looked at Woon-Pils cold body before leaving the Asura Cults secret cave.
* * *
Mu-Gun was practicing his Iron Blood Vajra Body Cultivation at the training hall when Seol-Young urgently asked for him.
Whats wrong? Why did you call for me in such a hurry? Mu-Gun asked upon reaching Seol-Youngs residence.
I am sorry for interrupting you during your training, but something unusual is going on in Jiangsu Province, Seol-Young replied.
What is it?
A monster has appeared near the Hongze Lake in Jiangsu Province. It is reported to be tearing apart and killing all living beings in sight and devouring their hearts. The monster has already killed thousands, Seol-Young reported.
That is certainly worrying. What are the clans in Jiangsu Province doing? Mu-Gun asked.
Some tried to stop the monsters rampage but were wiped out, Seol-Young said.
What? How strong is the monster?
It seems to be in the Absolute Realm at the very least. According to reports, it has the durability of the Adamant Vajra Body State and can unleash vajra qi without breaking a sweat. Seol-Young continued.
That explains why the clans in Jiangsu Province failed to stop its onslaught.
They have the Taiyun Household, but as you know, chances are high that they are connected to the Nine Celestial Demons Sect. They are most likely enjoying this situation since it would benefit them if the righteous factions suffer losses because of that monster.
We cannot rule out the possibility that the monster is related to the Nine Celestial Demons Sect.
Youre right. In fact, the monster uses demonic arts.
Dont tell me Mu-Gun suddenly remembered something he found in the Thunder God's Secret Records.
Whats wrong? Seol-Young asked.
I think the monster is the Immortal Asura.
The Immortal Asura? Seol-Young tilted her head. She had never heard of such a monster before.
The Asura Cult has a wicked spell known as the Asura Essence Extraction Art. It transfers the energy of demonic practitioners to its user, allowing them to instantly reach the Supreme Demonic Realm. The Immortal Asura is something that is made by that Extraction Art. Mu-Gun explained.
If the Asura Cult has such a spell, why havent they ever used it? They would have conquered murim much easier if they used that to nurture several Immortal Asuras.
The Asura Essence Extraction Art has fatal drawbacks. Its success rate is extremely low, and if it fails, it turns the user into a Soulless Being.
Soulless Being?
A monster that engrosses themselves in the madness of slaughterjust like the one in Jiangsu Province. It is said that at least a hundred Peak-Realm martial arts masters are required to carry out the Asura Essence Extraction Art, Mu-Gun elaborated.
Sacrificing so many elite demonic practitioners for a spell that has a low probability of success certainly isnt ideal, Seol-Young said.
That is precisely why the Asura Cult hasnt used the Asura Essence Extraction Art before. However, with the Asura Divine Demon and their demonic monarchs dead, they had to somehow swiftly recover their forces. That is probably what led them to take such a risk and ultimately fail.
Does the Immortal Asura have a time limit like the Soul Burning Invincible Pill?
No. The only way to stop it is to kill it.
Do you intend to take this matter into your own hands, dear husband? Seol-Young asked out of worry.
If that monster really is the Immortal Asura, then it is most likely a Supreme Demonic Realm master. If I dont deal with this myself, we will not be able to defeat it.
Still, just to be safe, please dont go alone. If the Nine Celestial Demons Sect is trying to use that monster, then you might find yourself in danger.
Alright. I will take the three Sword Immortals with me, Mu-Gun said.
When are you going to tell Father about this?
I am planning to do just that now.
Go. Quickly.
Before I leave, do you have any other news for me? What about the Four Borderlands Influences that I mentioned a while back?
Please wait a little longer. Creating an information network at the borderlands is proving difficult. Seoul-Young replied.
I wonder if I am putting too much pressure on you for this. Dont overwork yourself, Mu-Gun reminded.
Understood. Now, go and meet with Father.
Mu-Gun headed to the pavilion where Cheon-Sang was staying and informed him about the monster he suspected to be the Immortal Asura. He then requested Cheon-Sang to allow him to deal with this matter.
When Cheon-Sang heard that the Immortal Asura was a Supreme Demonic Realm master, he hesitated to send Mu-Gun against it. However, he knew that only his son could stop its rampage. Left with no other choice, he gave Mu-Gun his blessing.
After obtaining Cheon-Sangs permission, Mu-Gun immediately visited the three Sword Immortals, explained the situation to them, and requested their help. When they accepted, Mu-Gun immediately departed from Shaoxing and headed toward Jiangsu Province with them.
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