Chapter 391

The following afternoon.

The primary forces of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult made their entrance into Lanzhou, situated within Gansu Province.

It was at this location that a highly unusual gathering of a separated household transpired.

“Clan Leader!!”

“Father!”

Every single retainer belonging to the Huangbo Clan bowed respectfully toward Huangbo Ak simultaneously, prompting Huangbo Ak to break into a robust laugh, his eyes rimmed with red.

“Hahaha! The journey here must have been filled with hardships for you all!”

Though his external demeanor had remained calm, Huangbo Ak had actually been consumed by worry the entire time.

He had been plagued by the fear that the royal administration might have uncovered his grand plan and launched a sudden raid on his household.

Fortunately, however, it appeared they had managed to reach the safety of Gansu prior to the royal court catching wind of the situation.

“The ancestral estate may be gone, but what of it? When it comes down to it, a lineage isn’t defined by a physical structure—it is defined by the individuals who comprise it.”

Huangbo Ak remained confident that alongside these individuals, the reconstruction of the Huangbo Clan could happen anywhere.

Observing this intense and emotional family gathering from a short distance away, Il-mok stepped closer to Huangbo Ak once the initial excitement had begun to quiet down.

“Huangbo Clan Leader. Your followers must be thoroughly drained after making such a massive trek all the way from Shandong, so perhaps it would be wisest for the Huangbo Clan to recuperate here momentarily? Specifically, those family members who are not combatants ought to remain out of harm’s way in Gansu.”

“We intend to advance toward Shaanxi alongside the primary army of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. The fighters of the esteemed Huangbo Clan would never shirk from a confrontation by using travel exhaustion as an apology!”

Huangbo Ak delivered his response with his characteristic, imposing presence, though his internal reflections told a different story.

‘Gansu rests entirely under the dominion of the Heavenly Demon Cult. Even though we are currently operating as partners, establishing our roots in identical territory might pave the way for friction down the line.’

Conversely, Mount Hua and Mount Zhongnan, the dominant forces overseeing Shaanxi Province, were teetering on the edge of total collapse, causing Huangbo Ak to view Shaanxi as the ideal birthplace for the Huangbo Clan’s new legacy.

Il-mok had a fair understanding of what Huangbo Ak was calculating, yet he chose not to argue against the decision.

‘Should the Huangbo Clan establish their territory in Shaanxi, they will fight tooth and nail to protect it, which works out to our advantage.’

Furthermore, in comparison to the Zhuge or Wudang, they possessed a much friendlier disposition toward the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, meaning they could act as a protective barrier long after the hostilities concluded.

“In that case, I shall pass this choice along to the Cult Leader.”

Once Il-mok offered a respectful hand salute and gave his reply before walking away, the individual standing beside Huangbo Ak—who served as the family’s primary manager as well as his cousin—pressed for answers.

“Clan Leader, who exactly is that youth?”

“The most junior martial sibling of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult Leader. He appears quite youthful, yet he is a master of such caliber that he single-handedly took the life of the Alliance Leader.”

“Ah. It would seem his physical form has achieved a youthful state as a result of profound physical transformation and skeletal purification.”

“…He happens to be a year younger than Se-hee.”

“…What was that?”

Upon the mention of his youngest niece, who was scarcely twenty-five years of age, the manager watched Il-mok’s departing form with a utterly bewildered look on his face.

Regardless of whether his manager had lost his train of thought, Huangbo Ak, having brought up his youngest child, was currently wearing a deeply conflicted expression.

‘Perhaps it truly would be wiser to permit Se-hee to stay behind in this place….’

This thought did not stem from a desire to shelter his youngest daughter by keeping her safe in the rear lines.

Rather, he wished to position her near Il-mok in hopes that a romantic bond might form between the two.

‘However, that young master has already shared an intimate relationship with his personal attendant, meaning I cannot possibly allow Se-hee to join him as a mere secondary wife. It would be far superior to place her directly on the front lines alongside the Cult Leader…. Confound it. Due to the schemes of that slippery Zhuge Clan, even our position is being degraded toward a secondary status!’

He had always intended to secure a proper, dignified marriage for his child, and under no circumstances did he wish to see his treasured daughter relegated to being a concubine.

‘Reflecting on it, the situation is rather peculiar. They have unmistakably shared an intimate bond, yet the young master and his helper behave as though they are completely oblivious to it.’

Judging by what he had gathered from watching them over the last few days, they hardly conducted themselves like partners who had crossed that line of intimacy.

‘It appears they have mutually decided to act as though it never occurred. Which actually works out well. Word has it that the reigning Cult Leader and the vast majority of the sect’s members view that young master as the rightful successor to the throne, so looking ahead to what is to come, anchoring her to him via marriage would be…..’

While Huangbo Ak contemplated the decades ahead with a troubled mind, his firstborn daughter walked up silently and broke his chain of thought.

“Father, push your anxieties aside. So long as our forces stand united, victory in any conflict is within our grasp.”

Huangbo Ak could only offer a faint, slightly forced smile in response to Huangbo Yeon’s determined declaration.

He had been internally debating the matrimonial future of his youngest child, yet she had completely misread his silence as anxiety regarding the upcoming campaign.

“Hahaha. Truly spoken like a true daughter of the Huangbo Clan! Indeed. There is absolutely nothing to dread. Quite the opposite, this presents a perfect opening to elevate the renown of the Huangbo Clan to even greater heights.”

Huangbo Ak summoned a booming laugh to mask his thoughts, reflecting internally.

‘Yeon speak the truth. The conflict demands our undivided attention right now. It is quite foolish of me to be plotting out events decades down the line during such unpredictable times.’

In the theater of war, any variable could manifest, leading Huangbo Ak to resolve that he would deal with future complications when the time came.

In the meantime.

Completely oblivious to the fact that Huangbo Ak was privately evaluating both Il-mok and Wi Jin-hak, Il-mok made his way to Wi Jin-hak to report the final decision of the Huangbo Clan.

The following day at dawn.

“May the heavens grant you triumph in the coming battles, Cult Leader.”

“Understood. The security of our rear territory rests in your hands.”

Following a full day dedicated to recuperation and structural adjustments, the primary forces of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult alongside the Huangbo Clan set out from Lanzhou, charting a course for Shaanxi.

Il-mok tracked their retreating silhouettes for a brief period before shifting his gaze toward what lay behind him.

To provide backing for Il-mok, his personal attendants, coupled with roughly half of the available combatants from the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, had stayed behind at this outpost.

Il-mok carefully scanned the individuals present who were destined to execute the most vital duties in this strategy.

Specifically, Baek Un-hak and Baek Cheon, alongside the students who followed them.

Under ordinary conditions, these were individuals he would place zero faith in.

“Young Master Il-mok! Kindly instruct my father and myself on what our subsequent actions should be!”

Yet, when the objective shifted toward shifting public opinion and handling outreach efforts, they stood out as his most reliable partners.

Meanwhile, during that identical period.

Deep within the secure confines of the Forbidden City located in Beijing.

“What did you say!?”

A piercing, high-pitched shout entirely unbefitting an elder’s countenance rang through the chambers.

This outburst occurred because the critical information regarding the demises of Executioner Jeong Il-ho and Advisor Jeong Il-ho had only just managed to reach the ears of Grand Duke Taegong.

Following the clash with the Demonic Cult that triggered widespread disorder, combined with the sudden interference of the Blood Cult, every single operative who had successfully integrated into the Martial Alliance had been eliminated.

In a rather farcical turn of events, the updates carried back by the retreating combatants of the Nangong, Shaolin, and Hwasan factions were initially picked up by the scattered handful of Martial Alliance figures remaining in Lanzhou. It was only after this piece of news manifested into a widespread rumor and filtered into the Eastern Depot that it ultimately trickled into the Forbidden City.

“Those wretched degenerates of the Blood Cult have managed to completely sabotage everything at the absolute last second.”

He had fully intended to capitalised on the chaos generated by the Blood Cult to force the entire defensive capability of the Central Plains to align with the Martial Alliance.

Instead, when all was said and done, the Blood Cult’s blunders had thoroughly dismantled his entire strategy.

Even so, he could not afford to waste endless moments lamenting what had slipped away.

While he burned with the urge to execute the Blood Cult trash who had mismanaged the entire operation, the reports indicated that every last one of them had already perished.

It wasn’t as if he could take his own life simply to hunt them down through the underworld for retribution.

“Let me understand this, those heretics of the Demonic Cult are asserting that the slaughter in Guizhou was executed by our hand?”

“That is correct, Your Excellency.”

“Hmph. Utterly preposterous. Attempting to shift accountability for their own atrocities onto our shoulders. Precisely what one would anticipate from such uncivilized, heretical zealots.”

Grand Duke Taegong unhesitatingly categorized the event as the handiwork of the Demonic Cult.

This particular strategy of misdirection was second nature to him.

Constructing false narratives to frame political rivals was a daily occurrence within the imperial administration.

Inside the state halls, the final verdict was always determined solely by sheer leverage. Much like the classical tale of pointing at a deer and calling it a horse, if the Emperor along with Grand Duke Taegong declared a matter to be factual, then factual it became.

“…I shall immediately order the Eastern Depot to disseminate counter-rumors to control the narrative.”

The individual speaking was the final Chief Eunuch of the Purple Rank, who had assumed control as the Eastern Depot Commander following the demotion of Chief Eunuch Bang due to consecutive blunders, alongside the total mental collapse recently suffered by Chief Eunuch Cha.

“Furthermore, seeing as both Jeong Il-ho and Jeong-oh have met their ends, initiate a covert dialogue with the Peng Clan.”

“What directives should I deliver to the Leader of the Peng Clan?”

“Inform them that the Eastern Depot is prepared to offer undercover backing, so they must unite with the righteous sect martial artists to completely wipe out the practitioners of the Demonic Cult. Ensure you include the promise that their contributions toward driving back external hostiles will be rewarded with grand honors once the dust settles.”

This directive dovetailed flawlessly with the broader strategy to circulate information designed to incriminate the Demonic Cult.

He possessed the authority to mobilize the official state military to crush the Demonic Cult, but taking that path would undeniably dilute the strength of the crown’s standing regiments.

Worse yet, a diminished imperial military would severely compromise his ability to suppress the independent martial artists of the Central Plains.

Consequently, for this specific phase, he intended to utilize the Hebei Peng Clan to ignite a massive internal war within the martial community.

Be that as it may, Grand Duke Taegong was acutely aware that the Peng Clan by themselves lacked the raw power to withstand the Demonic Cult.

Most notably, whispers had reached him suggesting that several smaller organizations had already begun pledging their allegiance to the Demonic Cult.

“In addition, dispatch official mandates to the Western Army Command, the Central Army Command, and the Southern Army Command. We shall officially categorize the members of the Demonic Cult as hostile foreign invaders, meaning that should they attempt to cross the borders into the Central Plains from Xinjiang, the directives must command their total eradication alongside the independent martial factions.”

Given that the Northern Army Command and Eastern Army Command were situated much closer to Beijing than to Xinjiang, his strategy was to monitor the unfolding events from a distance first.

“You must oversee the distribution of these specific mandates in person—this includes you, Chief Eunuch Bang, and Chief Eunuch Cha. Should those heretics launch an offensive, we must ensure the total destruction of the Demonic Cult followers by combining our strength with the regional command forces.”

Chief Eunuch Bang had fully bounced back from his previous physical trauma, and Chief Eunuch Cha was perfectly capable of operating provided his assignments did not steer him toward the northern territories.

Naturally, this approach required committing all three of the elite Purple Rank Chief Eunuchs directly to the volatile front lines, yet Grand Duke Taegong remained entirely unconcerned by this risk.

Even in their absence, his grip over the internal eunuch hierarchy remained absolute, and he still commanded several highly effective long-distance assets.

The personal security detachments of the Emperor, alongside the elite Embroidered Uniform Guard kept in reserve for critical turning points—these functioned as his ultimate long-distance chess pieces as well.

A handful of days prior. The Yunzhong Mountains situated in Hubei Province.

At this specific site, the Zhuge Clan, recognized as one of the Seven Great Clans, was currently experiencing a massive wave of preparation and movement.

“Are the defensive preparations for Wudang moving along smoothly?”

“They mirror the actions of the Zhuge Clan quite closely. Our current sect leader junior brother is managing the internal logistics, which allowed me to journey here in his place.”

The renowned Sword Immortal Mu Hyeo-ja offered his commentary right after taking a slow sip of his warm beverage.

The underlying explanation for why both the Zhuge Clan and the Wudang forces were locked in such a frantic state of preparation was straightforward.

Immediately upon their rapid withdrawal back to the strongholds of the Yunzhong and Wudang Mountains, they had dispatched communiqués through their personal students and loyal retainers to blanket the entirety of Hubei with the latest updates.

Regardless of whether one looked at Wudang or the Zhuge Clan, the core pool of directly bound martial artists was not particularly massive.

Wudang could count roughly three hundred fighters at most, while the Zhuge Clan possessed scarcely four hundred within their immediate ranks.

However, these metrics exclusively accounted for the practitioners permanently stationed on the mountain peaks.

When one factored in the secular practitioners scattered across the region, alongside the smaller secondary sects, protection agencies, and independent sell-swords tied to them, the total number surged into the thousands.

Precisely as Il-mok had deduced, they functioned within their territories much like local 豪族.

Naturally, because these individuals did not belong to the elite inner circle of the primary sect, master-level martial artists among them were few and far between. The vast majority of these thousands of fighters were classified as first-rate or second-rate talents at best.

Those rare individuals who had successfully broken through to the peak realm—the true metric that separated elite martial masters from ordinary fighters—were exceptionally scarce.

Under standard conditions, they would never dream of mobilizing such a disparate crowd, but the current crisis changed everything.

This was no longer a simple matter of safeguarding their immediate compound or launching a localized raid against an opponent. At present, it was vital for them to lock down the entirety of Hubei to brace for the inevitable hammer blow of the royal military force.

After enjoying another small sip from his cup, the Taiji Sword Immortal abruptly pushed himself up from his seat and declared his intentions.

“I merely paused by your estate for a brief moment to extend my personal regards, but pressing matters call for my presence elsewhere, so I shall bid you farewell for now.”

“What destination are you charting a course for?”

“Shaolin.”

Zhuge Mun tilted his head slightly, his expression laced with confusion as he questioned the choice.

“Hasn’t the Beggar Clan already assumed full responsibility for delivering the formal updates to the Nine Great Sects and Seven Great Clans?”

In stark contrast to organizations like Wudang or the Zhuge Clan, the Beggar Clan possessed virtually zero external secular students or commercial escort businesses.

They were, by definition, an assembly of beggars from their very inception.

On the flip side, their network extended into every corner of the Central Plains, allowing them to specialize almost exclusively in intelligence gathering, which explained the logical allocation of responsibilities.

Faced with Zhuge Mun’s inquiry, the Taiji Sword Immortal gave a slow nod of affirmation before offering his final thought.

“I am well aware of that arrangement, yet when it comes to Shaolin specifically, it is imperative that I make the journey in person to successfully draw them into our coalition as trusted partners.”

Zhuge Mun found himself entirely unable to fathom the underlying logic of the Taiji Sword Immortal, prompting him to ask once more.

“Is there a hidden truth regarding Shaolin that remains concealed from my knowledge?”