Chapter 308

Kwak Yeon saw the sword leave his hand.

Yet another Blue-Steel Sword remained in his grasp.

In other words, the sword that had shot toward the Ghost General before him had been projected from the Blue-Steel Sword.

More precisely, he was aware of it. He was not actually seeing it with his eyes.

It had no form, so naturally, it made no air-tearing noise.

Yet that formless sword carried the sword aura he had learned to draw from the Blue-Steel Sword for the briefest instant through the teachings of the Alliance Leader, Martial Supreme Venerable Cheol Gun-ak.

BOOM!

The Ghost General one zhang away shattered and scattered into the air.

It was the first time Kwak Yeon had used the Wisdom Sword in actual combat.

It possessed neither shape nor presence. Thus, it was called the Formless Sword!

Every martial artist yearned for this supreme sword art, yet it was said to be granted only to those chosen by heaven.

The achievement was enough to make him throw back his head and laugh with exhilaration, but Kwak Yeon merely allowed himself a brief shudder of excitement.

He had only realized it sooner than expected. He had always known that he would attain it one day.

It was merely one step on the path to the Ultimate Void, and an unfathomably long road still lay ahead.

Nor was his present situation relaxed enough for him to savor the joy of his accomplishment.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

At some point, the Ghost Generals had begun moving several times faster than before.

This, too, seemed to be one of the formation’s workings.

Kwak Yeon could feel the remaining Ghost Generals accelerating every time one of them was destroyed.

Yet they posed no threat whatsoever to him now that he had achieved unity between sword and self.

The Formless Sword had increased his attack range explosively. What threat could the Ghost Generals’ simple, fast slashes possibly present?

KRA-BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Kwak Yeon unleashed the Formless Sword again and again, as though using the Ghost Generals for training.

Once he found that he could destroy a Ghost General from one zhang away, he launched the Formless Sword at another two zhang away.

KRA-BOOM!

FLASH!

When the Ghost General’s blue radiance split apart beneath the white flash, Kwak Yeon immediately turned his gaze toward one three zhang away.

But no Formless Sword appeared before it.

With his current power, two zhang was the limit of the distance over which he could wield it.

That range would increase as the depth of his inner power grew, so there was no reason for disappointment.

He was also curious how many times he could use it in succession, so he continued shortening the interval between each Formless Sword he projected at the Ghost Generals.

KRA-KRA-BOOM! KRA-BOOM! BOOM! BANG!

Since he could practice controlling the Formless Sword while eliminating the Ghost Generals, Kwak Yeon continued projecting it without restraint.

THRUM!

At one point, he heard every major point throughout his body resonate.

The outer-sphere true qi stored within them had run dry.

The Formless Sword’s range plummeted from two zhang to one, then finally to only five or six feet.

His inner power and true qi were not an inexhaustible spring. Captivated by the Formless Sword, he had pushed himself too hard by relying exclusively on sword aura.

A considerable number of Ghost Generals still remained in the cavern, and the sinister energy continued swirling around him on every side.

Kwak Yeon tasted blood in his mouth.

It was a warning that the inner power and true qi in his dantian were also nearing exhaustion.

He erased the Formless Sword from his mental state and sealed it away, then raised sword aura along the Blue-Steel Sword.

The moment he stopped attacking with the Formless Sword, the Ghost Generals surged into striking distance.

SWOOSH! SWOOOOSH!

Kwak Yeon was just beginning to unleash the Seongra Heaven Sword Wall to grind the charging Ghost Generals against a wall of sword aura in midair.

SWISH!

THUD!

Without warning, something enormous lunged from behind and seized him.

“...?”

It happened without his qi sense detecting anything—without even the faintest sign of another presence.

Shocked by the attacker’s concealment skills, Kwak Yeon immediately released rebounding aura throughout his body.

WOOOOONG!

It was meant to protect him from a grappling-hand technique or a dagger strike, but an attacker of ordinary skill would also suffer damage from the rebounding aura alone.

CRACK!

“Urgh!”

Something sounded as though it had snapped, followed by a low groan.

The attacker had taken damage, but Kwak Yeon had not escaped unscathed either.

He had been forced to halt the backflow of the inner power and true qi he had already released for the Seongra Heaven Sword Wall while simultaneously raising the rebounding aura.

The strain struck his dantian, which had already been nearing exhaustion.

Fortunately, the pure and upright Honwonmusang qi rose on its own and erased the shock, but it could not replenish his depleted inner power and true qi in such a short time.

Meanwhile, the attacker clinging to him like a leech still refused to let go.

The attacker’s strength was also tremendous—more than enough to crush every bone in the body of someone who had never practiced martial arts.

Yet Kwak Yeon faced an even greater danger than the attacker restraining him.

The Ghost Generals’ blades!

For some reason, the ghostly blades were still closing in.

If he failed to stop them, it would all be over.

But with the attacker wrapped around him, he could not properly execute his martial arts.

The situation was dire.

Then—

BOOM!

CRASH!

One of the Ghost Generals before him suddenly shattered.

Hu Gae’s face appeared in its place.

“Brother Kwak, your brother is here.”

Sword aura surged around the Tagu Staff in his hands.

WHISH!

CRACK!

Another Ghost General was cleaved diagonally in two, revealing Jin Cheongha behind it.

“Chief Secretary Kwak, I’m here too.”

“...!”

WHIRL!

CRASH!

Hu Gae swung the Tagu Staff and smashed another Ghost General’s head apart.

“Brother Kwak, get some rest. I’ll handle the rest.”

SHWAK!

CRACK!

Not to be outdone, Jin Cheongha hacked another Ghost General apart.

“Sub-Branch Master, please leave a few ghosts for me.”

As Kwak Yeon watched Hu Gae and Jin Cheongha charge toward the Ghost Generals, a strange feeling came over him.

He could not remember the last time he had felt what it was like to be protected by someone else.

“Brother Cheongmu, you can let go of me now.”

“Hehe!”

Still holding Kwak Yeon tightly, Taoist Cheongmu smiled guilelessly.

“I can’t let Little Martial Uncle go right now.”

“Why not?”

“If I let go, Little Martial Uncle will try to die again, just like before.”

“...?”

Kwak Yeon could not make the slightest sense of Cheongmu’s utterly unexpected words.

Good heavens. When did I ever try to die?

*****

“...Grand Strategist Sagong Ui will establish a base in Changsha Prefectural City and support the five campaign forces advancing toward Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan, and Yunnan.”

After Left Military Strategist Yong Baekcheon finished reporting on the status of the campaign against the Demonic Eight Divisions, Martial Alliance Leader Cheol Gun-ak turned his gaze to the relief map before him.

Its miniature mountains and rivers made him feel as though he were gazing down upon the realm from high in the heavens.

Looking over the enormous relief map spread across the great table, Cheol Gun-ak felt a bitter ache.

The man who had poured his heart and soul into creating it was no longer in this world.

Cheol Gun-ak had been especially close to Right Military Strategist Baek Ri-gi. Standing there now felt like visiting a house whose master was gone and waiting for someone who would never return.

That damned fool.

He had never been going to live for a thousand years. What could he possibly have desired so badly that he had done such a thing?

Cheol Gun-ak recalled how keen and intelligent Baek Ri-gi had looked when they first met, then shook his head and pushed the memory aside.

Eight flags of different colors stood upon the relief map.

They had once all been planted together in Wuhan, but had scattered when the campaign forces departed.

Three had moved east and now stood in Hefei, Anhui Province. The other five had moved west to Changsha Prefectural City.

A deployment report had just arrived from Grand Strategist Sagong Ui. By tomorrow morning, the five flags in Changsha Prefectural City and the three in Hefei would each be scattered across the map.

The bases of the Demonic Eight Divisions were spread throughout the realm, leaving the campaign forces no choice but to divide into eight routes and advance separately.

The three Demonic Divisions in Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Anhui would be handled by three corps led by the Namgung Family.

The five Demonic Divisions scattered through Sichuan, Gansu, and the surrounding regions would be attacked, with the Grand Strategist’s support, by five corps led respectively by Wudang, Shaolin, Mount Hua, Emei, and Qingcheng.

The relief map held not only the flags of the Martial Alliance’s eight corps, but also flags marking the strongholds of the Demonic Eight Divisions.

After surveying the entire map, Cheol Gun-ak spoke.

“Left Military Strategist, aren’t the eight corps deploying a little too quickly? They set out as soon as they reached Changsha Prefectural City, without even taking time to rest.”

Yong Baekcheon did not know what the Alliance Leader had in mind, so he answered cautiously.

“I’m not sure. They do seem to be hurrying somewhat... but without knowing the conditions in the field, it is difficult for me to say.”

“The conditions in the field....”

Cheol Gun-ak murmured the words softly, then nodded.

“You’re right. The Grand Strategist would naturally have made his own judgment....”

Though he said that, his lingering disappointment did not entirely fade.

Before Sagong Ui departed, Cheol Gun-ak had urged him to remain at the staging base as long as possible and delay the deployment.

Conditions in the field changed from moment to moment, however, and the Grand Strategist must have made his decision accordingly.

Thinking that he was needlessly meddling in the affairs of the Strategists’ Office, Cheol Gun-ak was about to rise.

Then his gaze stopped on a flag planted in the heart of a rugged mountain range.

The Gathering Demons Division!

“Left Military Strategist, did you say Wudang would be responsible for eliminating the Gathering Demons Division?”

“That is correct. I was also told that the Sword of Wudang personally requested that assignment.”

“The Sword of Wudang wanted to go to Sword Demon Valley, where the Gathering Demons Division is based?”

“That is what the dispatch said. Shaolin and Mount Hua originally wanted the Gathering Demons Division as well, but they agreed to yield in deference to the Sword of Wudang’s wishes.”

Cheol Gun-ak found it somewhat puzzling.

Wudang had gained glory in Sword Demon Valley, but it had also accumulated no small measure of shame there.

Soon, however, he decided that the choice made sense for the Sword of Wudang.

If Uncheon Zhenren had joined this campaign to wash away the disgrace of the past, then going to Sword Demon Valley was only natural.

Concluding that Uncheon Zhenren, like himself, intended to relinquish his remaining worldly attachments once this matter was over, Cheol Gun-ak rose and brushed off his robes.

“Left Military Strategist, I’ll be going, then.”

Yong Baekcheon gave a clasped-hands bow.

“I will report as soon as the dispatches from the eight corps arrive.”

“There’s no need. Everyone must be too busy to breathe as it is. I’ll visit again tomorrow morning, so collect them and tell me everything then.”

“Understood. Ah, Alliance Leader—the Great Flame Merchant House’s merchant vessels from the Western Regions are due to arrive tomorrow.”

“That is tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

“See that they are given every convenience. We have received help from the Great Flame Merchant House in more ways than one.”

“Understood. The Grand Merchant Lord is also due to arrive at the Alliance today, ahead of the merchant vessels. He said he would arrive at the end of the Dragon Hour, so the Great Flame Merchant House’s dragon ship should be reaching Zhenjiangkou docks around now.”

“Hmm. Then I had better return more quickly. We cannot leave an honored guest waiting.”

Contrary to his words, Cheol Gun-ak climbed the steps of the Alliance Leader’s Office at a leisurely pace after leaving the Strategists’ Office.

Hocheon Unit Lord Myung followed silently behind him.

Upon reaching the gate tower of the Alliance Leader’s Office, Cheol Gun-ak paused and gazed down at the Yangtze River.

A magnificent dragon ship was docked at the pier below the cliff behind the Alliance Leader’s Office, where it faced the river.

At the top of its mast, a flame banner snapped in the Yangtze wind.

“Alliance Leader.”

When Cheol Gun-ak remained motionless, Hocheon Unit Lord Myung cautiously spoke.

“The Grand Merchant Lord must already have arrived.”

“I know.”

“Then why...?”

“For some reason, everything feels off today.”

Myung Jincheon quickly said,

“I will escort the Grand Merchant Lord to the guest residence.”

“No.”

Cheol Gun-ak shook his head.

“He has come from far away. We cannot treat him so coldly.”

Cheol Gun-ak set off toward Righteous Heaven Hall.

“The Alliance Leader enters.”

When Cheol Gun-ak stepped into Righteous Heaven Hall, a middle-aged man in ornate robes quickly rose from his seat.

The man extended his clasped hands and bowed from the waist.

“I am Ho Yeonwon of the Great Flame Merchant House. It is an honor to meet you, Alliance Leader.”

A ring shaped like a burning flame adorned his finger.