Heavenly Forge (2)

“Secret Shadow has begun moving toward Kunlun.”

Old Taoist Noh spoke with his head bowed respectfully.

“Has he not yet encountered the Lord of Hyeon-ok?”

The person who had hidden his body in the shadows still did not reveal himself.

“Not yet. They will likely meet somewhere in Gansu Province.”

“I see. How do you think it will end?”

“We have information that Secret Shadow has learned the Heaven-Shattering Thunderbolt Sovereign. If that is true, even the Lord of Hyeon-ok may be defeated.”

Old Taoist Noh’s judgment was objective. When it came to Secret Shadow, even he could not be confident, because Secret Shadow always produced results that strayed beyond prediction.

“Heaven-Shattering Thunderbolt Sovereign… An impressive brat. To break the martial world’s unspoken rules.”

“Yes. He is young, yet utterly impossible to read.”

“He must be moving after obtaining solid information from Shingae, yes?”

“Yes. The ones I attached to monitor Shingae reported that they confirmed the two meeting. It also said he would eliminate Secret Shadow himself, but since Secret Shadow arrived at the Martial Alliance unharmed, he seems to have failed.”

“Was that your friend, Du Pyo?”

“Yes.”

“How astonishing. If it was Du Pyo, that would be skill you couldn’t even guarantee against.”

“That is why I believe the Lord of Hyeon-ok could fail as well. Should we not send additional forces?”

“Just watch for now. The Lord of Hyeon-ok is not the type to fight in a simple manner.”

“Understood.”

“Do you know what Shingae and Secret Shadow discussed when they met?”

“That was not reported.”

“Then in the end, to learn why Secret Shadow is searching for her, must we let the two meet?”

“My Mountain Lord, there is no need to go that far….”

Old Taoist Noh’s face turned startled. Letting them meet was tantamount to discarding the Lord of Hyeon-ok. For Secret Shadow to arrive there, he had to pass that ‘gate’ called the Lord of Hyeon-ok.

“It is not that I intend to throw away the Lord of Hyeon-ok. I simply mean we should prepare for the case where the Lord of Hyeon-ok fails to capture Secret Shadow. First, remove the eyes that are watching her.”

“Will you truly let them meet? She knows too much.”

“If you cannot rest easy, then place a Spirit-Command Mind-Seal on her. So she cannot speak of anything at all.”

“I will do so.”

“When Secret Shadow meets her, I will be there as well. In name, we are husband and wife, so Secret Shadow will not find me suspicious. And doesn’t the Sect Leader wonder why Secret Shadow is trying so desperately to find her?”

Husband and wife—the relationship between Dam Yeo-yeong and the figure in the shadows.

If so, then at last the identity of the shadowed figure was revealed. He was the Kunlun Oddity. The Kunlun Oddity who was said to have rejuvenated and become young—he was the one who ruled the Necromancer Cult.

Moreover, Old Taoist Noh’s status was no small matter. He was the Sect Leader of the Great Kunlun Sect, the head of the massive orthodox sect Kunlun that formed one pillar of the righteous martial world.

In the end, it was no exaggeration to say the Necromancer Cult was simply another name for Kunlun.

“If the Mountain Lord steps in… then I will do as you say.”

Old Taoist Noh knew Dam Yeo-yeong would not dare wag her tongue. That was because she knew better than anyone how terrifying the Mountain Lord was.

“Then I will take my leave, as understood.”

Old Taoist Noh—more precisely, Jeong Hoe-ja, the current Sect Leader of the Kunlun Sect—quietly withdrew from before the Kunlun Oddity.

Once his figure had completely vanished, the Kunlun Oddity, who had remained submerged in shadow without revealing himself, finally stepped into the bright light and showed his face.

If the talk of rejuvenation was a lie, it did not show. He wore the appearance of an ordinary man in his thirties. Though called the Kunlun Oddity, he wore plain clothes rather than a Daoist robe; as he was now, if he slung a hoe or a pack frame over his shoulder, he would look so ordinary he might pass for a farmer or woodcutter.

He stood like that for a while, then suddenly muttered,

“It’s almost here. The dream of a new empire was not far away.”

His ambition reached that far: the construction of a new empire.

Yet no matter how great the Necromancer Cult’s power was, it was beyond them to topple the Ming Empire that currently ruled the continent. So how, then, would he build a new empire?

In any case, everything was beginning in his mind.