Episode 277

Early the next morning, after getting ready and about to leave, Jinmu went outside and what he saw in front of him were warriors busily following Jeok Saeng’s instructions.

“You’ve come out?”

As soon as he stepped out the door, Hwang Shin and So Dong-bo came up to him and greeted him.

But why is this Hwang Shin bastard so ready to die right from morning?

Perhaps because the past still lingered, his frown didn’t look that good.

“Yah! Why are you moving your arms like this? Are you sick?”

“……”

Hearing Jinmu’s words, Hwang Shin sighed deeply.

’Damn that shit. Who is this all because of?

My arms are going numb from holding my hands up all night.’

“What’s with you people?”

Jinmu, who was at once irritated by Hwang Shin, looked at the warriors waiting in front of the door and asked.

“Yes, Heavenly Lord. There are 20, including the warriors who will be in charge of messengers, information, gathering, escort, and protection.”

“……”

Jinmu frowned as Jeok Saeng answered with a grin.

Most of them looked familiar.

Firstly, Mo Won-ryeo, the second leader of the Iron Sword Troops, Dae Gung of the Hidden Troops, and Wei Jong-ryeol, one of the Great Slayers of the Assassin Hall.

Those three guys alone seemed like they could take down a small regional sect.

“It’s enough to watch over Hwang Shin and So Dong-bo. Why do I have to carry these guys around?”

So bothersome.

“But.”

“Don’t worry. I will stay quiet. I’m going to do some training while I wait.”

“……”

Training.

It hardly looked like he had to do more training. He was already a monster.

However, Jeok Saeng didn’t recommend anything to Jinmu.

It was because he now knew that Jinmu was person who will never do something if he didn’t want to do.

And that he is a person who always keeps the promises he makes too.

When Jeok Saeng retreated, Jinmu called Myung Se-chan who was waiting to see him off, and handed him a red letter.

“This is…?”

“The letter belonging to the woman named Beom Jong. If you imitate her handwriting and confuse with the pegion, it will buy you some time.”

“Yes.”

“Also, take a look at the kid called Chu Ga-ryong. There is no way the Palace would target the daughter of a rural village chief for no reason. There should be something about it.”

“Alright.”

“If nothing comes out when you interrogate the woman called Beom Jong, try the officials too.”

“Why is that?”

“In the past, a similar incident occurred in Jinju region. The body constitution of the kids I rescued that time, and that of the kid here seem rather similar.”

“Hmm, I understand. I will secretly contact them.”
After hearing Myung Se-chan’s answer, Jeok Saeng added a hint to Jinmu, who had mounted the horse he had prepared in advance.

“Heavenly Lord.”

“What?”

“Are you planning to go straight to the Shanxi Chamber of Commerce?”

“Well, that’s right. It’s no fun to handle it with kids like you said, and I will lose face.”

“Then, please venture as slowly as possible.”

Slowly? Was this an attempt to buy time while the plan is being implemented?

“…I get it. Let’s do that.”

“Thank you.”

After greeting Jeok Saeng, Jinmu immediately rode his horse ahead and following his lead, more than 20 horses galloped down the roads of Gwangdu and moved towards the south.

“Now is the beginning.”

At Jeok Saeng’s words, the three of the Five Evil Emperors nodded, watching Jinmu disappear along with clouds of dust.

The first strategy, dispersion.

The goal is to divide the warriors into five groups and neutralize the Shanxi Chamber of Commerce at the same time.

Then, the second plan, blockage, will be implemented. By controlling all routes in Shanxi, it paralyzes upstream traffic in the Shanxi region.

And lastly, annihilation.

Concentrate all your efforts to take down the main base of the Shanxi Chamber of Commerce.

“Sect Leader, the key to this plan is the Lower District.”

Myung Se-chan took a deep breath at Jeok Saeng’s words.

The reason why the Lower District was the key was because the success or failure of the plan lies in the controlling of information.

The deadline is one month. Until the entire Shanxi region gets subdued, the Shanxi Chamber of Commerce has to remain unaware of the overall situation.

In addition, they have to divert their attention to prevent the officials from interfering in the middle of the plan, and they have to block information and even use counter-trickery to prevent the Evil Sect’s Heaven’s main character from helping out the Shanxi Chamber of Commerce.

In order to make all of this happen, all of Lower District’s northern force, spread out not only in Shaanxi but also in Shanxi, Hunan, and Hubei, must be deployed and move without a single inch of deviation.

“Phew, Night Cat warriors, they will have to run till their feet get sweaty.”

“Please do so.”

“Please do me a favor, Commander. Don’t worry about this and leave it to the Lower District!”

When Myung Se-chan responded confidently by thumping his chest until it made a loud sound, Jeok Saeng smiled and raised a black flag.

“Now then, shall we begin?”

“Yes! Commander!”

Central Murim Alliance, Righteous Heaven Hall.

Numerous people were gathered inside the huge Great Pavilion.

Elders of the Central Murim Alliance, heads of each martial arts clan, Central Murim Seven Stars, Nine Great Sects, and heads of the Five Great families.

It was the first time since the formation of the Central Murim Alliance, that the sect leader of Kunlun was present together.

Normally, they would have held a banquet and asked about the well-being of one another since they were meeting after a long time, but the atmosphere in the hall was so suffocating.

“Begin!”

In the innermost part of the Great Pavillion, at the words of Cheol Ji-ryang, the leader sitting at the top position, Sword Wisdom Byeok Un-young, who had assumed the position of leader of the inspection troops, bowed her head to everyone and stepped forward.

Most of the audience frowned at her appearance.

After the spies were revealed in Southern Edge, an inspection was conducted on all sects affiliated with the Central Murim Alliance.

Due to the connection with the Palace and the justification to hunt down the spies, the head of the inspection troops became more responsible than ever before, and it was decided that Sword Wisdom would be more objective than anyone else.

Tang Wi and Pung Hwan-ja lent their strength, and Shaolin and Five of the Great Sects, and even Kyung Gye, who had already experienced the threat of the Palace sympathized with it, so the rest of the people including the Five Great Families, had no choice but to step out and cry with their hearts full of anger.

“Before reporting, I would first like to express my apology and gratitude.”

“…?”

Everyone looked at her in puzzlement

“A long time back, we made a big mistake.”

Her gentle words calmed the atmosphere.

“About 10 years ago, the Murim sects ignored the difficulties of one sect out of practical interest.”

Everyone looked at one person as Byeok Un-young spoke.

Wudang’s Sect Leader, Myung Hyun.

“Even though it is late, I apologize now for not being able to help and ignoring you in the past.”

Myung Hyun’s heart pounded at the sincere apology from Byeok Un-young.

Since he was Myung Hyun, who had been busy rebuilding the sect in the mountains for a long time, he felt moved by the calm and thoughtful words of Byeok Un-young.

Even as her eyes turned red, Sword Wisdom continued to speak.

“Wudang did not give up despite great difficulties and raised an outstanding hero, the Sword of Wudang.”

“……”

“Not only did he make a great contribution by driving out the Palace forces who tried to overthrow the Central Murim Alliance, he also helped immensely in eliminating the spies who were hiding in various parts of the Central Murim Alliance. Nevertheless, he doesn’t want any consequences and is quietly going on his own way.”

As her deep resonating voice warmly enveloped the hall, some people expressed their sympathy, while others expressed jealousy.

“Wudang Sect Leader.”

“…Uh?”

“As a member of the Central Murim Alliance, I am deeply grateful to Wudang.”

An apology followed by gratitude.

As everyone nodded happily, Myung Hyun’s heart was filled with pride.

Wudang, whom everyone said was a ruined sect, is once again taking the steps that they had stopped for a long time, or have even retreated from, towards the center of Central Murim.

How can he express his feelings in words?

Everyone expressed respect and envy towards Wudang, who was once pushed to the bottom of the Nine Great Sects.

Well-raised…no, it was just one well brought up disciple that raised the status of Wudang to this extent.

Is it him?

Thanks to Jinmu, the finances have become abundant, and people from all over the world are coming to him, declaring their wish to become his disciples.

Chung Sang, who received Jinmu’s teachings, had become a representative of Yongbong Hall, said to be the future of the Central Murim Alliance, and Jin Myung, the eldest of the first-class disciples, recently returned after realizing his core, and demonstrated the Taiji Wisdom Sword, the pride of the sect.

How thrilling was it all?

A natural step for the elders to unanimously recognize him as the next sect leader.

It felt like he was greedy, but he wanted to put Jinmu in the position of the sect leader, even if it meant breaking down the rules of Wudang…that guy still has more work to do.

It’s been a little infrequent lately, but every time he moves, money…no, because he is showing the name of Wudang.

‘Jinmu…hehehe, that guy….’

Myung Hyun struggled to hold back tears and calmed his rough breathing.

“Now, do we begin?”

As Sword Wisdom’s soft voice gained strength, her majesticity spread all around, and a long report thus unfolded.

The details of the investigation were extremely extensive, covering not only the Nine Great Sects, but also the Five Great Families, small and medium sects, and merchants with officials connected to them.

Everyone was sobbing and reflecting on the fact that they didn’t know that there was a spy in their sect and family.

“…That is all.”

As the long, long report approached the end, even the sounds of breathing receded.

It was more difficult to find a sect which shouldn’t be held accountable than a sect which should be held accountable. Their eyes and ears were hidden.

At a time when even the faces of the Justice Faction leaders hardened, Cheol Ji-ryang opened his mouth.

“Listen everyone.”

“……”

“I, as the leader, do not believe that I am responsible for this matter. Although most of the sects are involved, I would like to leave everything that has happened so far unreported.”

Everyone opened their eyes wide and looked at Cheol Ji-ryang.

This meant that they wouldn’t be held responsible.

Everyone felt relieved and expressed their gratitude, but only one person, Namgung Mu-hyu, narrowed his eyes and bit his lip.

“Hahaha! The Alliance Leader came to a great conclusion. I truly respect you.”

The foolish Peng Wei-bang, who had many troubles, defended the Alliance Leader.

A guy who is strong and had no thoughts. That kind of guy is one of the Seven Stars of the Justice Faction.

Namgung Mu-hyu looked at Peng Wei-bang with disapproval.

If Peng Wei-bang is like that, how will the others be? It would result in the Sword Sage’s approval becoming much higher than before.

Namgung Mu-hyu’s eyes turned to Zhuge Hyeop-jin, who was next to the Sword Sage.

It couldn’t be the personal opinion of Cheol Ji-ryang. It had to have come from that man’s head.

He made it possible for the Justice Faction to be ruled.

As a result of the investigation, all sects lost their justification to fight against the Alliance and even had their corruption exposed.

The investigation into the spies was just an excuse. The inspection team must have secured all the corruption committed by each sect in order to hold power over them.

‘Damn it… The hilt of the sword has been seized.’

The Justice Faction has been taken over.

To stop the concentration of power….

His foolish son had lost the position as the representative of Yongbong Hall, and that main position had gone to Wudang.

He couldn’t just sit and watch. He had to risk something.

“I too supported the decision of the Alliance Leader from the Namgung family.”

As soon as Namgung Mu-hyu opened his mouth, everyone’s attention was focused.

“However, I heard that they signed a truce with the Evil Sect’s Heaven…”

“Yes. We did too.”

“How did you come to that decision?”

“This is a time when the entire Justice Faction is in a mess. I did that because we don’t have the strength to fight them at the moment.”

“Hehe, that statement is a little strange. I understand that most of the Palace’s power has already been deposed. All that was left would have been one investigation….”

“Ah, that…”

“Do you have any other intention for this?”

Cheol Ji-ryang frowned at Namgung Mu-hyu’s words.

“What do your words…”

“Alliance Leader.”

As Cheol Ji-ryang tried to refute, Zhuge Hyeop-jin quickly interrupted and stepped ahead.

Zhuge Hyeop-jin also knew that he had been opposing the activities of the Justice Faction at every turn. But Namgung Mu-hyu is a man with deep intentions. Especially considering his actions so far, he would definitely want to somehow disrupt the flow of concentration of power of the Justice Faction.

He already knew what his intentions were when he came forward.

If they hold the truce agreement, they will be seen as joining hands with the Evil Sect, and if they break it they would be called untrustworthy.

“Elder Blue Sky.”

“Speak.”

“Actually, this is something that we were planning to discuss after the inspection was done, even if Elder Blue Sky didn’t point it out.”

“…What?”

“We have no choice but to forcibly break the truce agreement, if faced with criticism.”

“Huh! Is that what a Great Commander would say? Wasn’t this an agreement made in the name of Justice Faction? How can we call ourselves the Justice Faction if we renege on our promises?”

As there was mumbling in the audience, a faint smile appeared on Namgung Mu-hyu’s lips.

However, since it was an expected reaction, there was no change in Zhuge Hyeop-jin’s expression at all.

All the forces of the Palace were pushed out, and all the wealth of sects under the Justice Faction had been taken over.

And now that the inspection troops are firmly established, the goal of concentrating all the strength of the Justice Faction in one place has been achieved.

Now it was a time to solve the lingering problem.

A place where all the sect leaders of each sect are gathered. In the meantime, Namgung Mu-hyu, who had been uncooperative up till then, raised the issue himself, so if he took advantage of it, they could manipulate him, who was still showing sentimentality problems even at the age of 70.

Zhuge Hyeop-jin smiled leisurely to himself.

‘Hehe, Blue Sky, you will have to run till your bones turn sore.’