Chapter 129. Making a Name (2)
***
Pabababak-!
The Weapon Eccentric was racing toward Zhengzhou, slicing through the wind. In all his long life, he had never unfolded his Lightness Skill this fast before. That was how urgent his heart was right now.
"Please, please—!"
The Weapon Eccentric was, in fact, a hall master of the Martial Alliance, but he never had much affection for the Martial Alliance. Rather, he had constantly struggled to break free from the shackles of being a hall master of the Martial Alliance. That was why he had lived without taking a single disciple until now. The next generation could not be the same. Believing that, he had worked tirelessly to sever that filthy and stubborn chain called the Martial Alliance.
And so, he had already finished a deal with True Immortal Hyeon-cheon to make this incident the last and cut off that chain.
After that, no matter what happened to the Martial Alliance, he planned to wash his hands of everything completely.
But.
'Damn it—! What is this?!'
The more he investigated this case, the more it felt like he would never be able to walk away.
When he had gone around Noh Family Village, Great Sword Sect, Yong Family Manor, and the like, he had still been uncertain. It was clear that either a terrifying expert or a monster had appeared in Zhengzhou, but even so, it did not seem like that thing alone could do much.
Even if that thing was—
the Extreme Yin Heavenly Slaughter Star.
That was what he thought, until he reached Tianxing Dojo at the very end.
The moment he arrived there, he had no choice but to change his mind.
Because he discovered a certain sign that made it inevitable.
'We must stop the Martial Assembly immediately!'
If they did not,
the rising stars of the orthodox path would be wiped out. No, the participants of the All-Under-Heaven Youth Martial Arts Tournament...
'Everyone might die!'
If that happened, a dark age would descend upon the martial world.
Whoosh whoosh—!
The sharp wind stabbed at his eyes, but he did not slow down even a little.
[A black and cold star rises, and when it descends upon the earth,
the world falls into silence.]
He remembered the legend his master had told him when he first became a hall master. And now he knew that it was not a legend.
Moreover, this time, it was not alone. Because of that, the world might become even quieter.
Pabababak—!
His two feet moved even more urgently.
***
Yunnan's Yun-Gui Plateau had been famous since ancient times for the abundance of rare flowers and strange herbs. That was why herb gatherers and medicine collectors often came. However, because the terrain was so rugged, nine out of ten who climbed up never returned.
Accordingly, in the depths of the plateau, precipitous valleys stretched endlessly, blocking human footsteps. It was a Secret Place unknown to the common world, but if one followed the hundreds of li of sheer ravines all the way to the end, a scene no one could predict would unfold.
A towering structure wrapped in accumulated clouds.
A sky-piercing building, its summit hard to guess, covered in thick clouds, stood tall in the very center of a vast natural garden filled with strange flowers and grass emitting eerie energy.
The secret hall of the Hall of Gathering Evils.
That's right. This place was the true headquarters of the Hall of Gathering Evils, unknown to the world. A Secret Land of secret lands, known by far fewer people than those who did not.
At the very top floor of this place lived a person who could control the underworld of the world with a single gesture.
Unknown to the world...
the true master of the Hall of Gathering Evils.
***
Just like everywhere else inside Heavenly Evil Tower, the room on the top floor was also filled with all kinds of flowers in full bloom.
Gong Nachu was leisurely trimming the flower trees with pruning scissors. Looking at that alone, he seemed exactly like an old scholar who had returned to the countryside, peacefully enjoying his old age. Who would ever think that such a man was the supreme leader of the unorthodox faction?
Just one thing.
Except for the fact that his narrow, slit eyes were so sharp that it was hard to believe he was a scholar.
Snip, snip.
At some point, as the regular sound of scissors quietly filled the room.
A light wind blew in, cutting off the snipping sound and settling behind Gong Nachu as a long shadow.
Gong Nachu put the scissors down on the floor and straightened his back.
Strangely, his elongated shadow did not waver at all, even though a fist-sized luminous pearl was embedded in the front wall.
"What is it?"
"A message has come from Elder Noh."
A voice of unknown origin answered.
Gong Nachu's sharp gaze flashed even more keenly for a moment.
"Are the preparations complete?"
"They say preparations have been completed at more than ten places, including Tianxing Dojo."
"Ten places, huh. That's enough. Today makes it the fourth day since Awakening of Insects, doesn't it?"
"Yes, Hall Master."
"Then tomorrow will be the day of action, is it?"
"Yes, Hall Master. But are you really going to bring those things to Zhengzhou—."
"I already became a sinner for all ages the moment I took in the chosen of the Extreme Yin Heavenly Slaughter Star into the Hall of Gathering Evils."
"......"
"Now, by that child and those things, the structure of the martial world will be reorganized anew. Even if there is a god among those in the Martial Alliance right now, none of them will come out alive. The Martial Alliance Leader must have believed that he could catch that child using the All-Under-Heaven Youth Martial Arts Tournament, but he will only realize that it was a miscalculation after he dies."
"Then... are you planning to go straight for Heavenly Demon Castle as well?"
"That's right. As soon as you leave this room, send word to the Dharma King. Tell him to make sure that when we sortie to Tibet, the Potala Palace opens the road immediately."
"Yes, Hall Master."
Potala Palace.
The leader of Tibet, and an ally tied by blood to Heavenly Demon Castle. But judging from Gong Nachu's words, it seemed clear that the Dharma King, the master of the Potala Palace, had already reversed his blade.
Due to geographical features, if they struck Xinjiang, where Mount Tianshan was, from Tibet, Heavenly Demon Castle would be left completely exposed in the rear.
Moreover, Heavenly Demon Castle was currently in a full confrontation with the Martial Alliance and the orthodox factions of the Central Plains, Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan, and other regions, so there would not be many troops left in the main castle.
In that situation, if the Hall of Gathering Evils and the Potala Palace attacked together...
"The phrase Three Conquerors itself makes no sense. The character Conqueror means the greatest among many, so how could there be three greatest ones? The word greatest is only possible when there is just one. This time, I will erase that cumbersome number three from the memories of the martial artists."
Conqueror.
The most outstanding among many. Or the foremost.
What other words are needed?
A Conqueror only has value when it exists alone.
However, for Gong Nachu, besides Heavenly Demon Castle and the Martial Alliance among the Three Conquerors excluding the Hall of Gathering Evils, there were a few other things that concerned him.
He walked forward and pressed the luminous pearl embedded in the wall.
"However, what I am worried about is—."
Kugugugung—.
With a low mechanical sound, the center of the hemispherical ceiling split open to both sides. Through the gap, glaring sunlight poured straight into the room.
Gong Nachu slowly walked back to the center of the room and lifted his head to look up at the sky.
It was broad daylight, and moreover, the sun was at its zenith, so the sunlight was truly dazzling. Even though Gong Nachu was a lofty master who shook the world, his eyes found it hard to endure.
Even so, he stared intently at something floating beside the sun.
After a long while.
He finished the words he had started earlier in a low voice.
"That."
"Yes? What is that?"
The shadow could not see it, lacking eyesight like Gong Nachu's, so it asked back.
Gong Nachu continued to look at the sun—no, beside it—and said.
"The Divine Star."
"...!"
"Now, even I can no longer guess how brightly that thing will shine."
Ordinary starlight is not even as bright as a firefly next to the sun. But that one had far surpassed that limit. In the past, it only rose at night and barely shone faintly and a little brightly next to the moon, but now, even beside the sun, it was hardly losing its light.
'Will that really become a variable?'
But it was already too late for him to turn back. There was no helping it.
Yeon Yeong-ha, and 'those things,' had already gone out to the Central Plains. And he and all the forces of the Hall of Gathering Evils would soon sortie to Tibet.
Once a decision is made, one must push forward swiftly and overwhelmingly and crush everything.
As befits the name Hall of Gathering Evils, a group that gathers wickedness.
The place where Hall Master Gong Nachu and his shadow were looking up at the sky was Yunnan's Myriad Phenomena Valley.
***
Woooaaah—!
Entering the climax.
The cheers shaking the Martial Alliance grew louder and louder. Although there were no battles as intense as the first day, fresh and promising young talents were still pouring out without rest. Naturally, most people kept their eyes fixed on the martial arena and did not look away even for a moment.
However,
"That star is visible even in broad daylight now?"
On the roof of the Anti-Demon Hall, the cross-dressed woman with an innocent expression, Yeon Yeong-ha, was looking not at the martial arena below, but at the sky.
It would be hard for ordinary people to see, but to her eyes it was perfectly clear. Even next to the bright sun, that transparency did not fade...
A star so transparent that it looked indifferent.
Her head slowly lowered. But it did not go all the way down to the central martial arena.
It stopped after her gaze aligned exactly with the roof of the Guest Residence Pavilion across the Main Avenue.
There, a man who exuded a hollow, empty feeling even just standing still was watching the tournament.
It's him.
Yeon Yeong-ha opened her mouth and said softly.
"Is it you?"
Of course, she could not expect an answer from the other side.
But she felt that she had already heard the answer. The empty aura emanating from him was growing stronger by the day.
To be honest, until now she had not been certain. At one point, she even thought he might just be another madman she had happened to run into.
But now she could be sure.
The Divine Star was that man.
Dong Gwang-cheon.
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