Chapter 426: Returning To Xi’an (2)

Yi-gang’s thoughts were correct.

A storm had swept across the entire martial world, but not all sects had sealed their gates or been destroyed.

Especially, sects that had originally expanded their power from the grassroots rather than stepping into the limelight had relatively survived.

The orthodox sects, Shaolin and Wudang, the leading stars of the orthodox faction, had locked their gates and remained on the mountains.

The Hao Sect in the marketplace continued its activities.

They had their livelihoods.

In the brothels, courtesans still extorted money.

In the stables, coachmen raised horses.

Gambling houses still survived, and pigs were slaughtered at the butcher shops.

This Xi’an branch of the Hao Sect was managed by Jeong Gu, a Hao Sect disciple.

He was someone who had a connection with Yi-gang.

And the Xi’an branch chief, Geum Hwa, whom Jeong Gu originally served, had become the Hall Chief overseeing the entire Shaanxi Province when Yi-gang last checked.

How were they doing now?

The place Pu Ju-han guided Yi-gang to was a shabby teahouse.

However, because it was located on a hill, it was a prime spot overlooking the river and surrounding environment.

It was clear upon entering that this was no ordinary teahouse.

The scent of tea was deeply fragrant.

The furnishings looked simple but were all high-quality items.

Those who came here were likely influential figures even in present-day Xi’an.

There were some security procedures, but no particular problems.

Yi-gang arrived at a private room on the top floor of the teahouse.

No one was inside, but Yi-gang glanced up at the ceiling.

About three people were hiding inside this place.

Slide-

While sitting, a middle-aged bald man and a young woman entered.

They were Jeong Gu and Geum Hwa. They bowed respectfully to Yi-gang.

“It’s been a long time since I last saw my benefactor.”

Yi-gang lightly nodded to acknowledge their greeting.

Yi-gang felt as if not much time had passed since he last met them.

But in reality, about six or seven years had passed.

Wrinkles had formed around the eyes of the once young Jeong Gu.

Geum Hwa, the former Xi’an branch chief’s young daughter, had also become a mature woman.

“Since you are alive, I suppose it is the heavens’ care.”

She said this as if deeply moved.

Yi-gang quietly gestured upwards.

“Ah, it was urgent, so I couldn’t pay attention. Step back.”

As soon as her order was given, the presence disappeared.

The martial arts of the Hao Sect disciples were not that great.

No one was hiding to avoid Yi-gang’s attention.

The two sat opposite Yi-gang.

Ha Jun and Yeom Gwang stood behind, not sitting as if they were Yi-gang’s guards.

“Would you like some tea?”

Then Jeong Gu sent a message outside.

A clerk who had been arranging tea leaves outside brought tea utensils.

The young man put tea leaves and water into the teapot and brewed tea.

“The clerk is deaf. You don’t need to mind him.”

Geum Hwa said so.

When Yi-gang nodded, she asked a question she was curious about.

“I understood you were trapped in the Crouching Dragon Basin.”

“I heard it was reported that I died.”

“We have keener ears than others. We heard stories of your activities inside the Crouching Dragon Basin.”

“Are there others besides us who escaped?”

“Yes, but they were the ones who left the front lines earlier.”

“…I can understand that.”

Not everyone in the world was brave.

Those who thought they couldn’t be slaughtered in a senseless death in the war likely deserted.

The Hao Sect gathered information from them.

“The time that passed there was only about four and a half days.”

“…Such things.”

Yi-gang roughly explained.

That the flow of time inside the barrier was distorted.

It was surprising how such a thing was possible, but unexpectedly Geum Hwa accepted it quickly.

“In such a world, such things might be possible.”

“Then I suppose you have many questions.”

He needed to know more detailed stories than what Yeom Gwang had told.

“I want to know everything about the current situation of Azure Forest, the Evil Cult, and the Baek Family.”

“You came at the right time. We are better off now than the Beggar Gang.”

The Beggar Gang had a main headquarters.

That headquarters was immediately targeted by the Evil Cult and destroyed. The branch headquarters survived and led the beggars but could not operate as before.

“The three Cardinals of the Evil Cult have taken the front. They are truly the strongest in the current martial world. Since most of the Twelve Supreme Masters had gone missing in the Crouching Dragon Basin… no one could stop them.”

The martial world’s forces were concentrated in the Crouching Dragon Basin.

The core forces of the great sects and the strongest in the world were isolated regardless of orthodox, unorthodox, or demonic alignment.

That was undoubtedly the Evil Cult’s plan from the start.

“They couldn’t kill all the masters as they wished… but isolating them was half the success.”

“Yes. Originally, the martial world wouldn’t have fallen so easily.”

“Where did they appear? There seem to be many cultists for those who had been hiding.”

“They gathered from outside the Central Plains. There are also Semu people and Japanese pirates among them.”

The Evil Cult’s cultists were outside the Central Plains.

The Central Plains alone is vast. It was understandable why their traces were not found.

They destroyed the martial world by using martial arts, sorcery, and even controlling monsters.

The most powerful means was the intervention of the authorities.

“Azure Forest… is still holding on.”

The surprising thing was Azure Forest’s fierce resistance.

They preserved their strength by not sending disciples into the Crouching Dragon Basin.

Mount Heng is one of the Five Great Mountains.

They were blocking the Evil Cult’s invasion based on that rugged terrain.

“However, the consensus is that the tide of the war is slowly turning.”

Then he should quickly go to Azure Forest as well.

And the words Yi-gang was most curious about came out.

“The Baek Family held out for a long time. They were the Lord of Xi’an…”

Geum Hwa’s tone was cautious.

“But about half a year ago, a full-scale offensive began. The government troops and Evil Cult cultists joined forces. A branch leader and a branch. There was also a group called the First Kill Squad that came.”

A branch was a unit forming part of the Evil Cult’s forces.

A branch consisted of several squads, and the one with a red tassel was the squad leader.

The First Kill Sqad were astonishingly each Transcendent masters.

Yi-gang’s eyes flickered.

And Geum Hwa delivered another piece of bad news.

“The Grand Matriarch… yes, that’s right.”

Yi-gang’s great-grandmother, the Grand Matriarch, had died.

It was a year after hearing that Baek Ryu-san, Yi-gang, and Ha-jun went missing in the Crouching Dragon Basin.

Yi-gang swallowed his bitter feelings.

“There are survivors.”

It was fortunate if there were survivors.

He had to care about them.

“The elders’ efforts were tremendous. Rage Sword Phantom and Ice Iron Rakshasa led the family members to escape.”

Rage Sword Phantom was Baek Do-yeom. Ice Iron Rakshasal was Baek Seo-ok.

They were respectively Yi-gang’s uncle and grandaunt.

Those elders who once opposed Yi-gang saved the family from extinction.

“It is understood that Ice Iron Rakshasal has left for Azure Forest, but Rage Sword Phantom’s whereabouts are unknown.”

“Did the Evil Cult pursue him?”

“We believe he is hiding somewhere in Shaanxi Province. If the Evil Cult had succeeded in tracking him, we would know.”

His words conveyed confidence in the Hao Sect’s intelligence.

If true, it was at least fortunate.

However, Yi-gang’s expression did not brighten.

“If the young master wishes, we will do our utmost to help. The Xi’an branch’s information network is still solid.”

Despite Geum Hwa’s determined words, it was so.

“What will be the price?”

“The Evil Cult is also our enemy. Many of our disciples have already been killed by them.”

Yi-gang did not take a single sip of tea.

“In troubled times, there is no luxury to help others.”

“Our bond is not that shallow…”

“I didn’t know it was that deep.”

People’s gratitude has an expiration date.

Although Yi-gang had saved Geum Hwa and Jeong Gu, nearly ten years had passed.

Yi-gang did not believe the feeling to repay kindness still remained.

“Or do you want something from me?”

“Or perhaps…”

Yi-gang split a plate in half with both hands.

A crescent-shaped plate shard.

In the hands of an Absolute master, it was more dangerous than a vicious sword.

Yi-gang pointed at the clerk holding the tea utensils with it.

“Is he related to someone hiding their identity?”

It was the moment Geum Hwa was about to say something.

Yi-gang gestured for her to be silent.

“I lived with the deaf for a while, so I know that habit well. He is not deaf. Moreover, his martial arts are quite strong, even stronger than you two.”

“Who are you?”

Then the clerk turned his head and spoke.

“I am indeed deaf. I just trained not to show it.”

“Sorry for hiding my identity. My situation is urgent.”

Despite his secret being revealed, he was not intimidated.

Yi-gang’s eyes sparkled.

He had a thought of ‘could it be?’

“He is our sect leader.”

Geum Hwa said so cautiously.

The identity of the Hao Sect leader is kept strictly secret even within the Hao Sect.

To think that identity was such a young man.

“I see. Please sit.”

Yi-gang also treated him as the head of a sect.

“Nice to meet you. I am Yoo Si-kyung, Hao Sect leader.”

“I am Baek Yi-gang.”

Yi-gang quietly admired.

The Hao Sect leader did not look deaf at all.

Even the Shaolin’s Ugly Buddha Beop Jae was deaf, but compared to him, his behavior was much more natural.

From the start, his speech was not at all awkward.

“It’s because I haven’t been long since I lost my hearing.”

“If so, that is even more impressive.”

But it seemed certain he understood by reading lips.

“To be straightforward, we need Young Hero Baek’s help.”

“What kind of help?”

“Specifically, your martial power.”

What the Hao Sect lacked most was martial strength.

A matter requiring strength was imminent for them.

“Now we’re talking. In return, you will help find the Baek Family survivors?”

“And we will provide additional information and continue to assist you in the future.”

“What additional information?”

Yi-gang did not yet confirm he would help.

But the Hao Sect leader signaled Geum Hwa without hesitation.

Geum Hwa explained to Yi-gang what was happening at the Baek Family estate.

“The Evil Cultists are looking for something?”

“They said they use all means, digging the ground and tearing down walls.”

“Is there such an item in the clan?”

What was the most precious item in the Baek Family?

Of course, except for the family head’s ancestral tablet, or including it, it was the Shooting Star Fang.

Yi-gang had it. Then why was the Evil Cult searching for something in the family?

The Hao Sect leader smiled as if she had given enough information.

“Then may I state our request?”

“Please do.”

Yi-gang nodded, and the Hao Sect leader got to the point.

“Currently, the darkness ruling Xi’an is our Hao Sect and another force.”

“Weren’t all the sects in Xi’an destroyed?”

“Yes. But new groups have emerged.”

When existing powers disappear, new ones rise by taking the opportunity.

Xi’an was no exception.

“They don’t seem friendly with the Evil Cult either, but they oppose us.”

“What kind of guys are they?”

Then an unexpected story came from the Hao Sect leader.

“It’s the Demon Cult’s Xi’an branch.”

“…What?”

It was an utterly absurd statement.

Most of the Demon Cult’s forces were also trapped in the Crouching Dragon Basin.

But in the meantime, the Demon Cult had established a branch in Xi’an?

“It’s true. They too declined, but the remaining forces advanced into the Central Plains.”

“Did the Evil Cult tolerate that?”

“It doesn’t seem so.”

“Those Demon Cult members are oppressing the Hao Sect. Do you want me to get rid of them?”

Yi-gang’s question was not false.

Though it risked exposure, it was not impossible.

With the authority of the Heavenly Demon he possessed, he could suppress them, and with the three of them, they could handle the Demon Cult’s branch, which was only a shell.

But the Hao Sect leader seemed to think Yi-gang was joking.

“Haha, no. Would I really ask such a favor?”

“Tonight, we plan to have talks with them. Please escort us then.”

That was the Hao Sect leader’s request.

“Is that all?”

“The demons’ momentum is terrifying. It’s embarrassing, but it’s hard for us to handle…”

“Very well.”

Yi-gang readily agreed.

It was not a difficult task.

But the Hao Sect leader emphasized again.

“In particular, their leader is very strong. Despite being young, he is at least at the Extreme Demon Realm. He is perhaps on the verge of entering the Unrestrained Demon Realm.”

At that level, the Hao Sect could not handle him.

But did the Demon Cult have many such talents left besides the elders?

The following words from the Hao Sect leader froze Yi-gang instantly.

“His name is Yo Yeon-bi. He is said to be the son of the True Demon Palace Master.”

“Who…?”

There was only one Yo Yeon-bi he knew.

Moreover, he was a person far from being a master.

After a series of thoughts, Yi-gang grimaced.

“…That makes no sense!”

The Hao Sect’s intelligence.

Could it really be trusted?

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