Chapter 68

The incident began with a chance encounter in the central district of Chengdu between a third-generation disciple of the Qingcheng Sect and a second-generation disciple of the Emei Sect.

The Qingcheng Sect disciple had come out to gather information. The second-generation Emei Sect disciple, who had come out on a brief errand, happened to run into him in the central district.

The Qingcheng Sect disciple tried to pass by quietly.

For one, he was of a lower generation, and for another, Cheong-yeop had ordered them not to clash with the Emei Sect just yet. But the second-generation Emei Sect disciple was different.

She had received the same order, but her emotions were running high over Gong-seon’s death.

The moment she saw the third-generation Qingcheng Sect disciple, her emotions exploded.

Her reason consumed by rage, she attacked the third-generation Qingcheng Sect disciple. The third-generation disciple did his best to defend himself.

But there was a great gap in Martial Arts between a third-generation and a second-generation disciple. Naturally, the Martial Arts of the second-generation disciple, who had trained in her sect’s Secret Transmission for much longer, was bound to be superior.

In the end, the third-generation disciple fled to Geumcheon Gate, and the second-generation Emei Sect disciple pursued him to the end, inflicting a serious wound.

Enraged by this, the disciples of the Qingcheng Sect inflicted a serious wound on the pursuing second-generation Emei Sect disciple, and eventually, the Martial Artists of both sides, having lost their reason, clashed in the middle of Chengdu.

Cheong-yeop tried to control the Qingcheng Sect disciples, but he couldn’t completely stop the movements of those enraged by the third-generation disciple’s injury.

To make matters worse, Geumcheon Gate had joined the fight.

If it had been just Geumcheon Gate, it wouldn’t have been a problem, but as sects friendly to Geumcheon Gate and the Qingcheng Sect also jumped in, the fight spread like wildfire.

The Emei Sect did not just stand by and take it.

At the crisis of their second-generation disciple, the Hundred Flowers Room and Emei Sect Martial Artists jumped into the fight, and even the Black Cloud Corps intervened.

“Damn it!”

Jang Muryang felt as if he were having a nightmare.

He, Yang Woo-jeong, Daoshi Go, and a dozen or so members of the Black Cloud Corps stood in the center of the battlefield in the middle of Chengdu.

Just one shichen ago, he had been strategizing with the two of them on how to efficiently attack the Qingcheng Sect with minimal casualties.

But then he heard the sudden news that the disciples of the Emei Sect and the Qingcheng Sect had clashed, and he had rushed over with just them to grasp the truth of the matter.

However, before he could even assess the situation, the fight had grown insanely large. There was no room for him to intervene.

“Guuuh!”

“Damn it!”

The street stalls and shops were all destroyed, and wounded Martial Artists lay everywhere, screaming.

Yet the fight showed no sign of ending.

The Martial Artists of the Qingcheng Sect and the Emei Sect were swinging their swords at each other like mortal enemies, and the Martial Artists of Geumcheon Gate and the Hundred Flowers Room were also fighting fiercely.

“Let’s defeat the shameless Qingcheng Sect.”

“The enemy of Junior Martial Sister Gong-seon.”

“Die!”

The Emei Sect disciples, their eyes filled with Poison Qi, attacked the Qingcheng Sect disciples. The spirit of the Qingcheng Sect Martial Artists responding to them was just as formidable.

“Who do you think you are to say that?”

“Who started all this trouble? Didn’t it start because the Emei Sect hired an Assassin to kill our Martial Uncle Woo? Truly shameless people.”

“Punish the Emei Sect.”

The Qingcheng Sect disciples also swung their swords without mercy.

Both sides had reasons to hate each other.

Their hatred erupted like Mount Hua.

Hatred paralyzed reason, and paralyzed reason erupted into extreme violence.

The Martial Artists of both sects were showing just how cruel a Martial Artist could become when blinded by rage.

“Kuaaack!”

“Ack!”

Screams erupted ceaselessly, and the streets of Chengdu were stained with blood.

The ones gaining the upper hand were the Martial Artists of the Qingcheng Sect and Geumcheon Gate.

The Martial Artists of the Emei Sect and the Hundred Flowers Room were also doing their best, but they were at a disadvantage in terms of overall strength.

Jang Muryang, having assessed the situation, said to the Black Cloud Corps Martial Artist who had come with him.

“This won’t do. Summon the entire Black Cloud Corps.”

“All of them?”

“Yes! If we can’t turn this fight around, we won’t even get a chance to join the war.”

“Understood.”

The Black Cloud Corps Martial Artist who answered rushed back to their quarters.

“Let’s join the fight too, Daoshi Go! We need to push back the Qingcheng Sect first.”

“I understand, Unit Leader!”

“Vice Unit Leader Yang, take the kids and circle around to the left to attack the Qingcheng Sect’s flank. If we cut them off at the waist, the Qingcheng Sect’s strength will weaken.”

“But we won’t be able to hold out for long.”

“We just need to hold on until the others arrive. If even a part of the cavalry joins, we can turn the tide of battle in one fell swoop.”

“Understood.”

Yang Woo-jeong replied and followed behind Jang Muryang.

Only a very small portion of the Black Cloud Corps’ famed cavalry had entered Chengdu. The rest were waiting outside the city.

This measure was taken because mounted cavalry entering the city would inevitably draw people’s attention.

But at this moment, Jang Muryang regretted his decision.

He hadn’t known the situation would deteriorate so quickly.

“Everyone, stop fighting.”

Po Sanhae, the Boss of the Crimson Dragon Clan, who had arrived late to the battlefield, shouted.

He tried with all his might to mediate, but he couldn’t persuade the Martial Artists of both sides, who had already lost their minds.

Shhhk!

“Keuk!”

He himself ended up getting wounded by a sword swung by a nearby Martial Artist. The wound itself was light, but the problem was his subordinates who saw it.

“How dare you attack our Boss.”

“Unforgivable.”

The Martial Artists of the Crimson Dragon Clan attacked the Martial Artists of the Hundred Flowers Room.

“No!”

Po Sanhae tried to stop them, but it was useless.

Killing and being killed, biting and counterattacking, the situation spiraled into the worst possible outcome.

Fixtures were broken, and shops collapsed.

The onlookers who had been watching the fight screamed and fled, and some of them took advantage of the chaos to loot nearby shops.

They didn’t just stop at stealing goods; they even committed arson and killed merchants who tried to stop them.

The fire spread to the adjacent shop, and people fetched water to put it out. But there was a limit to what could be done with buckets.

“Oh my! What do we do?”

“Please help. Our shop is on fire.”

The shop owners pleaded for help from the Qingcheng Sect and Emei Sect Martial Artists. But the desperate cries of the merchants did not reach the ears of the Martial Artists who were in the midst of a fierce battle.

It was as if hell had opened up.

The Martial Artists became demons and ran rampant, and the people, tainted by evil, revealed their true nature.

Clang!

“Ugh!”

With a metallic clang, Jang Muryang let out a groan.

Just one clash, and he had felt a considerable shock.

His opponent was Cheong-san, the first-generation disciple of the Qingcheng Sect.

Unlike his gentle-looking face, Cheong-san was a Sword Hero with terrifying skill.

He pressed Jang Muryang with movements as nimble as a leopard’s.

Cheong-san was so swift that Jang Muryang couldn’t keep up with him. Because of that, precious time was slipping away helplessly.

Jang Muryang gritted his teeth and looked around.

Yang Woo-jeong and Daoshi Go were also fighting hard against the Qingcheng Sect Martial Artists, but overall, the Emei Sect and the Hundred Flowers Room were being pushed back.

‘Why aren’t they here yet?’

He thought of his Subordinate, Jo Jeok-san, whom he had sent to their quarters.

By now, he should have returned with the Black Cloud Corps members who were at the quarters.

‘What in the world is going on?’

Drip, drip!

Drops of blood soaked the earth.

Jo Jeok-san, a Martial Artist of the Black Cloud Corps, stared blankly at the blood flowing from his body.

The red blood flowing from his neck, down his shoulder and arm, felt as if it belonged to someone else. But the blood falling to the ground was definitely his.

“Kuuugh!”

Jo Jeok-san belatedly let out a groan and clutched his neck.

He felt the cold touch of metal at his fingertips. It didn’t take long to realize it was the hilt of a Flying Dagger.

“You, you?”

Jo Jeok-san looked at the owner of the Flying Dagger.

The person who had suddenly appeared and ambushed him as he was on his way to call his comrades. It was none other than Pyo Wol.

The Flying Dagger embedded in Jo Jeok-san’s neck was none other than Ghostly Rain.

“You cowardly, shameless… Keoheok!”

Jo Jeok-san coughed up a mouthful of blood mid-sentence.

His face was filled with Death Qi.

No Physician could save him now.

Jo Jeok-san sensed his impending death.

As a member of the Black Cloud Corps, he had wandered through countless battlefields.

Death was always close, and he had thought that he too could die someday. But he never imagined it would come so suddenly.

He never dreamed he would be killed for no reason by someone whose face he didn’t even know, like Pyo Wol.

‘I have to bring the Black Cloud Corps to the Unit Leader…’

Even in his fading consciousness, he considered his failure to carry out Jang Muryang’s order a lifelong regret.

Jo Jeok-san’s body swayed greatly, then collapsed limply.

Pyo Wol looked down at the dead Jo Jeok-san for a moment before retrieving Ghostly Rain using the Soul Restraining Thread.

He had no personal grudge against Jo Jeok-san. Yet, the reason he had ambushed and killed Jo Jeok-san was that if he brought the Black Cloud Corps, the board Pyo Wol had painstakingly set would be completely overturned.

The Qingcheng Sect and the Emei Sect had to fight for as long as possible. Only then would they inflict fatal damage on each other. But if the Black Cloud Corps intervened, the situation could end prematurely.

That was why he had killed Jo Jeok-san, whom Jang Muryang had sent to request reinforcements.

Now that Jo Jeok-san was dead, the support Jang Muryang so desperately wanted would not come. Even if they did come, it would be much later.

Pyo Wol headed towards the central district of Chengdu, where the fight was raging.

The closer he got to the central district, the more he could feel the acrid smoke and the thick Blood Scent. That was how many people were dead or injured, strewn across the ground.

It was a scene straight out of a hellish pandemonium.

No one could have ever predicted that such a gruesome scene would unfold in the middle of Chengdu.

Chengdu was the central city of Sichuan Province, a place where countless cultures converged.

Naturally, its security was incomparably stronger than other cities, and even the sects of Jianghu were extremely reluctant to draw their swords here.

Thus, the perception that it was the safest place in Sichuan Province was implicitly embedded in people’s minds. But at this moment, that perception was shattering like glass, breaking again and again.

Chengdu was by no means a safe place.

The fierce battle between the Qingcheng Sect and the Emei Sect clearly planted the emotion of fear in people’s minds.

Pyo Wol looked around for a moment, then leaped nimbly onto a tall tree standing on the side of the road.

From atop the tree, the entire scene was visible at a glance.

Pyo Wol sat on a thin branch and watched the fight unfolding below.

Among them, a few people particularly caught his eye.

“How dare you send an Assassin to kill my disciple. And you still dare to call the Qingcheng Sect a prestigious sect of Jianghu?”

The one glaring at Cheong-yeop as if to kill him, with a wound on her left arm, was none other than Jeong Hwa.

Her one remaining eye was filled with the light of deep-seated resentment.

Cheong-yeop raised his sword with a grave expression.

“You were the ones who provoked the Qingcheng Sect first. You were the ones who instigated the ambush on Gun-sang, and the one who ambushed the young master of the Thunder Clan was also someone you instigated.”

“What nonsense is this? We never ordered the assassination of the young master of the Thunder Clan.”

“You said the same thing seven years ago. And what was the result? It was eventually revealed to be your doing.”

“…”

Jeong Hwa bit her lip.

She couldn’t make any excuses for instigating the Bloody Shadows Guild to assassinate Woo Gun-sang. But she couldn’t meekly admit it in front of everyone. Doing so would be confirming the Emei Sect’s immorality to all.

Jeong Hwa deliberately raised her voice.

“Don’t talk nonsense. Why would we assassinate the young master of the Thunder Clan? I hear the Assassin used the Qingcheng Sect’s Sword Art, how will you explain that? To assassinate him yourselves and then try to pin it on our sect because you feel guilty. How can the Daoists of the Qingcheng Sect be so conscienceless?”

Cheong-yeop frowned.

He couldn’t win against Jeong Hwa with words.

Since it was true that the Assassin who killed the young master of the Thunder Clan had used the Qingcheng Sect’s Martial Arts, making any more excuses would be pathetic.

Cheong-yeop suddenly felt a strange emotion.

It was because of one word that kept being mentioned in his conversation with Jeong Hwa.

‘Assassin.’

The one who killed the young master of the Thunder Clan was an Assassin, and the one who killed Jeong Hwa’s disciple was also said to be an Assassin.

The common point between the two incidents was that the Assassin’s identity had not been revealed.

‘Could it be that there’s only one Assassin…’

But Cheong-yeop couldn’t continue his thought.

Jeong Hwa had attacked.

“W-Wait!”

“One of us will lay our bones here today.”

Jeong Hwa charged, swinging her Buddha’s Duster. She was unleashing the Jade-Breaking Sword, the Emei Sect’s secret transmission Sword Art, with her Buddha’s Duster.

The Jade-Breaking Sword was not a Martial Art that could be parried while thinking of other things. To face the Jade-Breaking Sword, Cheong-yeop also had to unleash the Qingcheng Sect’s secret transmission Sword Art.

He was not given the leisure to talk idly.

Chwaaak!

Faced with the formidable assault of the Buddha’s Duster, Cheong-yeop unleashed the Blue Cloud Red Dawn Sword.

As the Buddha’s Duster and the sword clashed, the air in the vicinity trembled violently.

Pyo Wol watched the entire scene from atop the tree.

On the stage he had set, all the Martial Artists were dancing.