Chapter 230. Assembly (3)

After descending from Mount Heng, Jin Yuseong and his companions headed to Yingxian.

After securing an inn, they immersed themselves in training to prepare for the final decisive battle.

A low back mountain located on the outskirts of the village.

Sometimes, they would sit cross-legged in meditation, reviewing their enlightenments.

At other times, they would draw their weapons and swing them in the air.

And at other times, they would pair up and refine their martial arts through duels.

After a few days of being engrossed in such training, the Taoists of the Mount Heng Sect came to Yingxian.

Jin Yuseong willingly expressed his respect to them.

“Thank you so much for coming.”

“Ahem. We came out since we’ll be dealing with the barbarians anyway. Do not mind it.”

Immediately after the sect leader and Jin Yuseong exchanged a small talk, Hwangbo Ak suddenly cut into the conversation.

“Hahaha. Now that we are allies who will fight together against our enemies, how about we strengthen our friendship through a light physical conversation!”

Hwangbo Ak had been itching for a fight since his visit to the Mount Heng Sect.

At Hwangbo Ak’s suggestion, the Taoists of the Mount Heng Sect also showed interest for some reason.

“Hahaha. The fame of you fellow Taoists has reached all the way to Mount Heng. We were just wanting to witness your martial prowess.”

Naturally, a friendly duel with the Mount Heng Sect Taoists began.

Hwangbo Ak stepped forward, pounding his gauntlet-clad fists together.

Then, from the Mount Heng Sect, an old Taoist who was quite large for a Taoist stepped forward.

“I am Baekmyeong, the Inner Hall Elder of the Mount Heng Sect.”

“My surname is Hwangbo, and my given name is Ak. How about we have a spirited bout?”

Having shouted that, Hwangbo Ak happily rushed at Taoist Baekmyeong.

After observing the duel between the two for a moment.

Baek Hyang, who was watching with them, spoke.

“Even though they are both Taoist sects, their style seems quite different from the Mount Heng Sect, Senior Brother.”

Jin Yuseong nodded.

“It is quite a practical sword art.”

It was different from the Mount Heng Sect, which practiced martial arts simply to pursue the Way.

Every sword strike that Baekmyeong delivered was aimed at a vital point, and there was no unnecessary movement.

And Hwangbo Ak was happy about that.

“Hahaha! The chill down my spine is quite pleasant!”

Baek Hyang, who had been watching the scene for a moment, tilted her head.

She felt a subtle sense of incongruity.

“Apart from it being a practical sword art, something seems a little different.”

“Hmm… It seems to have a lot of techniques that specifically target the legs.”

After pondering for a moment why that might be, Jin Yuseong found the answer without much difficulty.

“I think it is likely a sword art meant for fighting enemies on horseback.”

It was as Jin Yuseong had guessed.

The sword art of the Mount Heng Sect had evolved through battles with nomadic raiders.

The raiders who would attack as soon as the harvest season was over.

They usually came on horseback.

The sword was too short a weapon to fight an enemy on horseback.

Therefore, their sword art had developed with the priority of dismounting the opponent.

Just then, Taoist Baekmyeong, who was dueling with Hwangbo Ak, launched himself into the air in a surprise attack.

The clean sword strike he delivered at the same time was aimed precisely at Hwangbo Ak’s head.

“Hmm. That technique seems to be a method for surprise attacking an enemy on horseback, conversely.”

Even when using a technique meant for an enemy on horseback against a person standing on flat ground, it was not at all unnatural.

Elder Baekmyeong had been training for a long time, so he was freely modifying and performing it to suit an opponent standing on flat ground.

However, it was not a sword art solely for fighting enemies on horseback either.

There were also many techniques for finishing off a dismounted enemy.

After facing the unique sword art of the Mount Heng Sect for some time.

Finally, Hwangbo Ak’s fist, which had penetrated Elder Baekmyeong’s defense, stopped in front of the old Taoist’s face.

Although the enemy’s techniques were unique and practical, Hwangbo Ak was also a man who was an old hand at real combat.

He had been pushed around a little at first, but after gradually adapting, he had finally found an opening.

Hwangbo Ak grinned and retreated.

“It was a truly enjoyable fight!”

The duels continued for some time after that.

It was a friendly duel that proceeded rather peacefully, but there was one time when a major accident almost occurred.

“Haaaaah!!”

With a kiai, Paeng Daecheol swung his blade with spirit.

The gray energy that erupted from Paeng Daecheol’s blade raged, taking the form of a thunderbolt.

“Keuk.”

A first-generation disciple of the Mount Heng Sect was gradually pushed back by the hegemonic blade art.

Then, the moment the first-generation disciple’s stance finally broke.

“Keuheup!?”

Paeng Daecheol’s blade qi, which he had failed to control, flew toward the first-generation disciple’s vital point.

Paeng Daecheol quickly tried to retract his internal energy, but it felt like it was too late.

‘Please!’

The moment Paeng Daecheol’s face, who had caused the accident, turned pale.

CLANG!

Jin Yuseong, who had approached without anyone noticing, used the principle of the Moonlight Coiling Sword to deflect Paeng Daecheol’s energy.

Then, he quickly sheathed the Master’s Blade and saluted the Mount Heng Sect side with a clasped fist.

“I apologize. It seems Young Master Paeng made a big mistake, having been too engrossed in the duel.”

The first-generation disciple of the Mount Heng Sect, who had almost died, clutched his chest and replied.

“Ahem. It is alright.”

He could see it too. The sight of Paeng Daecheol’s pale face.

Furthermore, a faint trickle of blood was even flowing from his mouth, as if he had suffered internal injuries while hastily retracting his internal energy.

Paeng Daecheol also quickly bowed his head to the Mount Heng Sect side.

“I apologize! It seems my cultivation was still lacking. My internal energy suddenly boiled over, and I unconsciously….”

Having barely managed to resolve the accident, Jin Yuseong let out a bitter smile.

‘Is this also fate?’

It felt like the situation would take a dangerous turn whenever Paeng Daecheol and the Mount Heng Sect were involved.

After that, the duels between Jin Yuseong’s companions and the Mount Heng Sect Taoists continued.

And by the time all the duels had ended.

The Mount Heng Sect Taoists had half-dazed expressions.

‘No matter how renowned their fame is in the martial world, I did not expect it to be this much.’

‘How can those young fellow Taoists be so outstanding?’

Since it was a friendly duel, no one was seriously injured or defeated.

But anyone with even a little skill could not help but know.

Except for Hwangbo Ak and Paeng Daecheol, everyone else had been holding back several moves during the duels.

Especially Baek Hyang and Jin Yuseong, they had approached the duels almost at the level of an instructional duel.

The Mount Heng Sect Taoists were able to realize anew just how large the martial world was.

***

A few days after the Mount Heng Sect Taoists had joined them.

A group of people dressed in yellow robes came to Yingxian.

“We greet the Abbot.”

“Amitabha. It seems we are a little late. Hahaha.”

After a brief exchange of greetings with Jin Yuseong and his companions, and the Mount Heng Sect Taoists, the Shaolin Abbot said.

“Our Shaolin will head straight to the north as promised.”

Although the abbot planned to stay here, the monks were to be divided into a dozen or so groups and scatter throughout the north to continue their investigation.

The Sect Leader of the Mount Heng Sect, who had been quietly listening to the story, spoke.

“Then how about the disciples of our Mount Heng Sect join them as well?”

The suggestion was to include one or two Mount Heng Sect Taoists in each of the dozen or so divided groups.

“We are confident that among the sects in the Central Plains, we are the ones who know the most about the north.”

At this, Jin Yuseong expressed his concern.

“Will the nomads not be wary of the Taoists instead?”

“Do not worry. We are not on bad terms with all the nomadic tribes.”

The sect leader explained.

“Not all nomadic tribes are raiders. On the contrary, there are many tribes that live peacefully.”

The Mount Heng Sect had striven to protect the common people living in northern Shanxi.

They were on bad terms with the nomads who frequently invaded this area, and there were also many cases where they had gone to the north to retrieve what they had plundered.

“In order to find the raiding tribes, we had to promote harmony with the peaceful tribes in return.”

He even said that in the past, they had joined forces with a small tribe to attack a raiding tribe.

“Conversely speaking, the nomadic tribes that are on bad terms with our Mount Heng are not even worth dealing with in the first place.”

In the eyes of the sect leader who said so, a killing intent unbecoming of a Taoist flickered.

“They are those who take plunder for granted under the guise of tradition. It can be said that coexistence itself is impossible with them.”

“Amitabha.”

The Shaolin Abbot recited the Buddha’s name with a complicated expression.

On the other hand, Jin Yuseong nodded as if he understood.

“I also have no intention of joining hands with those whose daily life is to torment the innocent.”

“Hahahaha. It seems I can communicate with you on many levels, Fellow Taoist Ghost Sword.”

In the end, it was decided that the monks of Shaolin and the Taoists of Mount Heng would investigate the north together.

The next day.

The majority of them, excluding the Shaolin Abbot, the Mount Heng Sect Leader, and a small number of monks and Taoists, headed for the north.

And a few days later.

A hundred or so people flocked in again.

They were the people of the Seomoon Clan and the Pyo Clan.

The rising generation of the two clans and Sama Hyeon were also with them.

After catching up with them and waiting for a few days, this time, several hundred beggars, including the Beggars’ Sect Leader, gathered.

Now, the village of Yingxian felt cramped.

“Hey, you punk, what need does a beggar have for an inn? For us, the ground is our blanket and the sky is our ceiling. Hehehe.”

The Beggars’ Sect Leader and the beggars willingly slept outdoors.

But it was still not enough.

Every day, people continued to gather.

Thanks to the Twin Heroes Alliance and the Beggars’ Sect beggars spreading the word, people with a will for justice were continuously coming to Yingxian.

At some point, over a thousand people had gathered.

Warriors were teeming everywhere.

All of them were people with a will for justice.

“…”

Jin Yuseong just silently watched the scene.

So many things had changed.

‘It feels like just yesterday that I was running wild all by myself.’

He did not just mean this life.

In his previous life, he had roamed the martial world alone his whole life.

There were countless villains who tormented people.

But why were there so few people who stepped forward to fight like him?

He lived with that frustration every day.

But now, there were so many.

Furthermore, people were continuing to flock in almost every day.

‘Returning to the past was not meaningless.’

Amusingly, this moment was more gratifying than when he had dealt with all of the Seven Evils, which had been his first goal.

***

Somewhere in the north.

Inside a large yurt that looked like a mansion.

The Cult Leader of the True Light Cult, sitting on a black grand preceptor’s chair, frowned.

“The monks of Shaolin and the Taoists of the Mount Heng Sect are stirring up trouble in the north?”

“Th-that is correct, Cult Leader.”

“…So the Right Guardian Envoy ended up spouting unnecessary words.”

Such news had already been delivered a few days ago.

That the Sichuan Sword Clan had been annihilated.

Furthermore, in the midst of that, no news had come from the Right Guardian Envoy who had contacted the Sichuan Sword Clan.

It meant that in the process of the Sichuan Sword Clan being annihilated, the Right Guardian Envoy had also been defeated by the enemies.

“According to the rumors, the Ghost Sword, as well as the Shaolin Abbot and the Beggars’ Sect Leader, are all gathering in the north.”

At that report, the corners of the Cult Leader’s mouth actually lifted.

“It seems the Prophet wishes for this master to ascend to heaven soon.”

It was as if the elixirs he needed to cross the final wall were flocking to him in a herd.

Just then, the Great Elder, who had been listening quietly, carefully opened his mouth.

“The Supreme One’s ascension is an event to be rejoiced, but please, look down upon us, your foolish followers.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“If the ignorant people of the Central Plains gather their strength and flock here, a considerable number of the followers who follow the Supreme One will inevitably lose their lives.”

“Hmm…”

The Prophet had said that he wished for as many people as possible to ascend to heaven.

“Then what do you wish for me to do?”

At the Cult Leader’s question, the Great Elder replied immediately.

“Just as they have joined forces, it seems we also need to draw in our pawns.”

“Has not the stratagem of stirring up trouble in the Central Plains already been nullified?”

There were still a few people who had learned the demonic art or were running wild in the Central Plains.

But the enemies were already slowly closing their encirclement on this place.

They were of no help now.

At that point, the Great Elder bowed his head and replied.

“Supreme One, this is not the Central Plains, but the north. Here, there are also many tribes that consider the people of the Central Plains their enemies.”

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