Chapter 369

Chapter 369
## Chapter 369

Rehearsal (2)

A hamlet on the outskirts of Beijing, its residents long departed, stood forsaken and rotting.

A assembly of figures converged within this grim location.

“Greetings, Benefactor Gwak.”

Master Wu Jin, the Abbot of the Shaolin Temple and a prominent figurehead of the righteous Murim, welcomed the arriving middle-aged man with a respectful hand gesture.

“Master Wu Jin, word reached me of your… mishap… but your physical state appears far grimmer than I anticipated. Are you truly fit to enter the fray?”

“Amitabha, though my spiritual refinement is incomplete, I am still whole with one arm and both legs. Haha, fret not, I shall not prove an impediment.”

“Hmm, well, I shall not dispute that.”

The middle-aged warrior’s manner of speaking was clipped, verging on discourteous, yet none present dared challenge his tone.

In spite of his plain looks, he possessed a standing and years that matched Master Wu Jin.

Gwak Cheol, the erstwhile master of the Four Evils Alliance—a dissolved confederation of wicked sects—and widely deemed among the absolute mightiest within the wicked Murim, the Heavenly Crushing Sword Emperor.

Such was the true name of the man who had just arrived.

‘…I sensed it during my trek, but… this is… deeply troubling. Now I comprehend why the dispatches were so… overstated.’

His attention drifted upward toward the firmament hanging over Beijing.

Dense, ink-black tempest clouds, unmistakably artificial in origin, had coalesced, utterly choking out the sun’s radiance.

Rumble—

The intermittent bursts of violet lightning combined with the menacing reverberations of thunder only deepened the overwhelming sensation of horror and impending doom.

It resembled nothing less than… the canopy above the underworld.

“Those of lesser will would lose their wits merely gazing upon it. And this malicious malice… it has persisted for days… The Demonic Cult is utterly earnest this time.”

The Heavenly Crushing Sword Emperor’s expression turned stony as he whispered under his breath.

He had journeyed here in person, fully grasping the weight of the crisis, yet a shred of confidence had remained within him.

He believed himself capable of standing against the Heavenly Demon, despite the latter being lauded as the supreme master under heaven.

Yet the pressure radiating from ‘that’ location…

‘This is no mere product of a sacrificial rite. That foul presence, that staggering might… Could it mean… Has the Heavenly Demon attained the Divine Transformation Realm?’

His focus shifted from the pitch-black sky back to the martial artists assembled on the ground.

Hundreds of individuals stood gathered, their internal forces honed and razor-sharp.

Grandmaster-tier combatants from every corner of the realm had convened, brought together by the aid of Taoist priests capable of utilizing teleportation techniques.

Under ordinary conditions, he would have found the sight formidable… but having felt the terror brewing in the storm clouds, doubt crept into his mind.

‘Master Wu Jin, Sword Saint Namgung Woo, Blood Asura, Heavenly General… and myself… We comprise the sole Mysterious Realm masters present.’

He scanned the assembly, identifying the pinnacle powerhouses, and his forehead creased slightly.

The numbers fell short of his expectations.

‘Did misfortune strike them? Or are they simply… too terrified to show themselves?’

Even with the immense loss of life throughout the protracted conflict, the reputations of top-tier masters remained common knowledge.

Merely a twelvemonth ago, people frequently spoke of the ‘Top Ten Masters of the World’…

‘This bodes ill.’

Whether they had fallen amidst the turmoil, been covertly executed by the Demonic Cult, or chosen to hide out of pure cowardice… the outcome remained bleak.

It signified that their prospects of overcoming the enemy had shrunk.

“Hmm?”

Just as he was monitoring the various Master Realm martial artists, his attention was abruptly pulled elsewhere, directed toward a thicket of dense trees.

Rustle— Rustle—

His acute auditory senses picked up a subtle rustling noise, drawing nearer at incredible speed.

Something perilous, something that set his survival responses on edge.

His frame locked up automatically.

‘This presence is… ’

He was far from the only person who picked up on it.

Those endowed with superior perception, both the martial experts and the mystics, began shifting their heads, tracking the origin of the commotion.

A few even unsheathed their blades.

“Stay sharp! Something draws near…!”

“Ugh, could it be a detachment from the Demonic Cult?!”

The approaching presence moved with too much swiftness for them to sit idly by.

While every eye remained locked onto the trembling foliage, a person suddenly burst forth.

“Oh! You have all gathered ahead of schedule! Hahaha! It appears our party is running slightly behind!”

A nonchalant tone, accompanied by booming mirth, shattered the heavy stillness.

The individual, a towering, heavily muscled fellow whose flesh was adorned with tattoos and unusual garments, displayed zero trepidation or reserve as he confronted the multitude of swordsmen who had bared their steel, their expressions dark and resolute.

It was as though he remained entirely oblivious to the sharp points aimed directly at his chest.

“Huu, this falls squarely on you. You spent far too much time gorging yourself… Do you intend to consume every wild creature residing in these peaks?”

“Hmph! They happened to be remarkably plump and succulent! How could I possibly decline?”

“…Precisely how much can you consume? I cannot fathom how that volume of flesh accommodates itself within your frame.”

“Hahaha! You flatter me!”

The eccentric newcomer traded playful barbs with his comrades, who stepped out from the brush directly behind him.

Yet the Heavenly Crushing Sword Emperor paid them no heed whatsoever. He simply could not look away.

His focus was entirely locked onto the vanguard of the group.

‘I have caught wind of his reputation. The modern Mad Demon, if I recall correctly? I dismissed the accounts as mere myth, but… ’

A primal realization struck him.

This adversary was not someone he could treat lightly.

A colossal frame, surpassing even his own stature, his expansive frame and thick muscles highlighted by primitive markings and garb.

His outward look was striking, yet that was secondary.

What truly commanded attention was the… ‘entity’ dwelling within his form, the alien power that drifted from his skin.

‘What manner of power is that?’

He knitted his brows, observing Master Wu Jin step forward to meet the newcomer.

Could such a being truly be counted as human?

‘Improbable.’

He felt entirely certain.

That entity, that monstrosity, was no mere mortal, despite walking in a human shape.

What then could he possibly be…?

“Huh? Hey there, elder, do you possess some grievance you wish to air with me?”

And in that moment,

…their eyes locked.

The stranger’s nonchalant bearing, his seemingly indifferent demeanor, and his gaze, resembling bottomless chasms, overflowed with an absolute, inexplicable lunacy.

‘…Understood. It ceases to matter.’

His perspective underwent a sudden shift.

Conceivably…

This conflict…

…was not completely devoid of hope.

—

Harley at last linked up with the gathered forces of the Murim Alliance.

‘The numbers exceed my calculations. My strenuous efforts bore fruit.’

While Hans orchestrated the concluding phase and the Murim fighters migrated from every path across the realm, he had hardly been resting.

His assignment entailed… providing complimentary counseling sessions to the various organizations that showed reluctance to join the cause, dropping by their estates to extend his unique… guidance.

Not unlike an educator conducting a residential visit for a pupil who neglected to show up for lessons.

Naturally, in contrast to standard educators, his guidance methods frequently necessitated a degree of… robust coercion.

‘It amounts to nothing more than… firm affection. Surely it beats being utterly wiped out down the road, does it not?’

What an incredibly benevolent and empathetic deed!

Should they persist in refusing to align themselves after he had endured such immense hardship to offer them a lifeline… then they possessed no right to complain about their fate.

After all, they were actively hindering the tranquility and order of this realm.

‘Furthermore, I have organized several… secondary arenas for those unable to make the trek to Beijing. Let us ponder… the remaining groups ought to be prepared by this hour.’

Hans, who maintained his position in Ganghwange, had not restricted his arrangements to the primary arena within Beijing.

He had likewise established lesser arenas across the length of the realm, ensuring a broader collective could participate in this magnificent spectacle.

The various outposts of the Demonic Cult situated in each territory would function as… subsidiary bureaus, reinforcing the primary ceremony taking place in Beijing.

The grand exhibition was centered in Beijing, yet the secondary actors required a feeling of intent and triumph as well.

‘Naturally, I calibrated the difficulty to match. They ought to manage to overcome the hurdles without excessive tribulation provided they cooperate.’

And should they fall short…

He intended to deploy the surviving assets of the Demonic Cult to assault the strongholds of the uncooperative factions.

Achieving two objectives with a single stroke.

“Amitabha, it appears the full assembly has convened.”

While Harley remained deep in contemplation,

…a profound, vibrating utterance rippled through the clearing, commanding the focus of all present.

“Therefore, let us depart. Our remaining window is narrow.”

The champions, brought together by a singular intent,

…turned their eyes toward Master Wu Jin, who took the vanguard position, his gaze locked onto Beijing.

Rumble—

The firmament over Beijing, cloaked heavily in ink-black storm clouds, mimicked the dead of night, even amidst mid-day.

It appeared as though light and shadow had been turned upside down across some imperceptible threshold.

It stood as an unparalleled event, even to them, the premier martial artists of this world.

“…Forward into that abyss, where light is chained.”

Following a brief interval,

…hundreds of silhouettes bounded into the atmosphere, surging toward the encroaching gloom.

—

‘The curtain rises.’

The front-line champions of Ganghwange, their strides rapid and perfectly matched, sprinted toward the core of Beijing.

Positioned among their ranks were highly capable mystics hailing from the Zhuge Clan and the Maoshan Sect.

“Along this path!”

They tracked the guide from the Zhuge Clan, preserving their layout, their strides flawless, as they threaded through the perilous landscape, counteracting the warping pressures of the unholy territory, the creeping dark force that sought to infiltrate their veins, and the blinding deceptions of the twisting maze formation.

‘…Remarkable. To think they possess the skill to employ this method in such a manner. This was not part of the lore I gathered from the Golden Island Sect.’

To correctly implement combat formations, a group required years of collective drilling and harmony.

It could not be executed seamlessly by a gathering of unfamiliar warriors who had only just met.

Much less with hundreds of individuals advancing as a singular entity.

‘Well, their reputation as a premier lineage is well-earned. This would grant them an insurmountable edge in conflicts against lesser foes, provided no master-level expert breaks their rhythm.’

Yet the Zhuge Clan had bypassed that drawback by blending arcane sorcery directly into their tactical arrays.

They had re-engineered the intricate and demanding telepathic charms, rendering them far less complex to invoke, and subsequently bound the warriors’ deeper perceptions via a delicate, imperceptible thread.

This permitted them to instinctively perceive their exact coordinates within the layout and shift in flawless harmony without a single moment of prior rehearsal.

‘And they can instantly pinpoint the coordinates of their stricken comrades and alter their layout to match. They function much like… an advanced tactical command hub.’

Owing to that system, the Murim Alliance pressed toward the epicenter of the dark territory at a pace far quicker than he had anticipated.

They would have been left floundering, disoriented and blind, stripped of the Zhuge Clan’s navigation.

‘Well, this proves quite… amusing as well. Now then, shall we commence the performance?’

Hundreds of silhouettes pressed onward in an impeccable march.

Yet as they drew near their objective, the heart of Beijing where the dark ceremony unfolded, their progression encountered a barrier.

“Hmph, you have managed to crawl here at last. Entirely blind to the reality that this location shall serve as your final resting place.”

As though he had anticipated their arrival, a one-eyed patriarch, brandishing a dark blade etched with a fiendish countenance, planted himself before them, obstructing their advance.

And at his back stood a legion numbering in the thousands.

“Demon Sword Master Yeo Mun-cheol…”

Sword Saint Namgung Woo narrowed his eyes, his voice dropping to a dark growl.

He had foreseen the man’s presence, yet it remained… deeply unnerving to confront him face-to-face.

“The White Bone Army, the Azure Water Army… and even the Heavenly Wolf Marquis…”

“Every one of them a notorious Master Realm fiend… And over there… that is the Blood Mountain Elder, from the older epoch. Even the Blood Cult has aligned its fortunes with the Demonic Cult.”

“Hold! That undead thrall! That is our sect’s Elder…!”

The forward drive of the Murim Alliance wavered as they surveyed the arrayed forces of the Demonic Cult.

An equivalent number of Master Realm figures stood against them… alongside the jiangshi, many of whom possessed recognizable features—champions who had long been logged as fallen or missing.

And furthermore—.

“…The Blood Demon.”

The Heavenly Crushing Sword Emperor breathed, his words nearly lost to the wind, upon identifying the entity anchoring the vanguard of the jiangshi legion.

A recognizable countenance, an antagonist he had battled on multiple occasions.

Yet the Blood Demon’s once fierce and dynamic presence had vanished entirely, his features rigid and devoid of animation, resembling a figure molded from wax.

He had held the man’s martial prowess in high regard, despite their opposing allegiances.

And now, he had been reduced to an undead puppet…

‘He was not merely an instrument; he was… fully consumed. Precisely how long have they been orchestrating this grand scheme?’

Nonetheless, the brief wave of paralysis gripping the Murim Alliance dissolved swiftly.

They comprised battle-hardened survivors, and they rapidly restored their focus, locking into a combat array.

The combatants closed their grips tightly around their hilts, their internal essences blazing to life, while the mystics readied their charms and ritual implements, their concentration sharpening to a fine edge.

The atmosphere hummed with absolute friction, the opposing legions poised on the precipice of collision.

And then,

[“So you have finally arrived, Murim trash.”]

…a wicked utterance, magnified by a dark and immense wave of energy, rippled across the field of engagement.

“Ugh!”

“W-what is this…!”

“Kuh!”

Those possessed of frailer foundations stumbled and wavered, their inner channels thrown into chaos by the terrifying voice.

A few even spat crimson fluid.

The utterance, resembling a freezing draft rising from the deepest pits of the underworld, appeared to defile their very consciousness, warping and fracturing the path of their internal energy.

[“I shall extend a proper reception to you, as your master of ceremonies.”]

The Heavenly Demon, the reigning titan of martial arts under heaven, the supreme authority of the Heavenly Demon Cult.

The ultimate adversary of the grand narrative had stepped onto the stage.

‘Superb. The opening impression is paramount.’

The mastermind who had directed the entire production, guiding every piece from the shadows.

Hans, thoroughly satisfied with the quality of his theater.