Chapter 208

Chapter 208
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**Chapter 208**
**Chapter Title: The Shadow Thief’s Triumph**

The Dang siblings were genuinely stunned—and for two very distinct reasons.

First was Chudal’s demeanor: he’d casually severed limbs the moment he was caught, yet spoke of it as though it were nothing more than a fine performance to behold.

And second… his stealth skills. He’d slipped in and out of the inner sanctum of one of the 136 Great Sects without a single soul catching wind of his presence.

*He really has grown,* they both thought. Everyone’s been saying as much—and fast, too.

“Chudal, brother. Look, what’s done is done. But what of the consequences? Are you truly certain no one saw you?”

“Be careless, little brother Chudal, and you might end up sounding the retreat drums in earnest.”

Chudal rose slowly to his feet.

Was he losing his nerve and preparing to flee…?

The siblings grew uneasy at the thought—until he spoke again.

“Brother. Who do you take me for?”

Normally, Yang-hwi would have shot back with something sharp—*“Who? Ugly Chudal, obviously!”*—but this time he grinned broadly and played along.

“In the Way of the Thief, I dare say I stand above all! The one and only rightful heir to the Divine Thief Lineage!”

Chudal puffed out his chest, standing tall and squared-shouldered.

“That’s right! I am not just Chudal… I am Hu! Grand-disciple to the last Divine Thief, inheritor of the entire Shadow Ghost Sect legacy!”

Yang-hwi slapped his knee, falling perfectly into step.

“Damn straight!”

Opinions might differ on which sect boasted the finest swordsmanship under heaven. But ask anyone which lineage commanded the greatest stealth arts… and all would speak the same name.

The Divine Thief Lineage, of the Shadow Ghost Sect!

“I am none other than the Shadow Ghost Sect’s young master, the Ghostly Wanderer Hu!”

“Whoa there!”

“Brother—not ‘whoa there.’ Say ‘damn straight.’”

“Oops?!”

“…Just have to ask for what I want, I suppose.”

Chudal’s bright mood dimmed as he continued.

“Regardless—fear not, Young Heir Dang. No one is any the wiser.”

“…Truly?”

“I never set foot anywhere I might be spotted in the first place. Locations likely to hold martial manuals were watched far too closely.”

Not that he hadn’t seen those guarded sites with his own eyes.

“So—where exactly *did* you go nosing about?”

“The sect leader’s personal chambers.”

Dang Gun could not keep his voice from rising.

“That is far too dangerous! You would have been caught instantly! The Taiji Sect Leader is the sect’s foremost master—trained in the Wudang homeland itself!”

“He wasn’t there, though.”

“Pardon?”

“Something must have drawn him away. It appeared he’d left entirely. There was no sign of anyone of his skill level anywhere in the sect.”

Come to think of it, Chudal knew more of their enemy’s movements than any of them. As the heart of the Baek Clan’s information network, he oversaw all their regular communications. That eased their fears of immediate retribution—if only a little.

But Dang Gun’s expression hardened once more.

“Chudal, brother. That was quick thinking, well judged. Yet you ought to have considered it more deeply.”

Chudal and Yang-hwi felt a strange flicker of familiarity as they looked at Dang Gun’s face. What was it? The stern look of a rigid elder offering a lecture.

“Sneaking into another sect’s private quarters without leave is hardly honorable. It differs little from outright theft.”

Chudal had but one retort.

“What of Liangshan Marsh?”

Silence hung heavy.

Liangshan Marsh—the legendary bandit stronghold from the tales of *Water Margin*, one of the Central Plains’ most beloved classics. A mountain brigands’ den, pure and simple.

“The heroes of *Water Margin* were Liangshan’s outlaws. And yet they are celebrated as true heroes, are they not?”

“It is only a story.”

“Every tale carries the hopes and dreams of all the world’s people!”

“Are you claiming this is righteous theft—just as Liangshan’s men saw themselves?”

“Precisely! I am this age’s champion of justice!”

Beside the animated Chudal, Yang-hwi nodded with an expression that said *not quite, not quite*.

*Ah. Now I see.*

When they had first been reunited with Chudal after all these years… Dang Gun had thought him a keener, sharper man than before. But this went far beyond that.

Chudal had always been crafty, yes—but he had once held firm to a clear moral line…

How that line had shifted. Just as someone else’s had.

“Chudal speaks truly, Brother Dang. This is a righteous act.”

“I would dearly love to follow your reasoning.”

Yang-hwi offered a quiet chuckle. It was only natural they did not yet see it his way. But righteous it was. Thwarting Wudang’s schemes would spare countless lives in the end. Explaining it now would not win them over, in any case. So he kept his words short and clear.

“We strike at the greed of the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Clans.”

Yang-hwi’s answer was simple—and Dang Gun understood at once. The Nine Great Sects and Five Great Clans were the revered powers of the orthodox world. None knew better than the Dang Clan—raised up at their whim—just how ruthlessly they pursued their own desires.

“I see. Their hunger so often blinds them to the suffering of others.”

“Knowing Wudang’s true purpose is vital. They act more tyrannically than even the most corrupt among the Five Great Clans.”

Zhuge Seol-ha, who had listened quietly all this time, spoke in a voice so faint it was barely audible.

“I apologize… on behalf of the Zhuge Clan…”

“Ah.”

“What?”

None had expected that.

“Ha ha—ha ha ha! The Zhuge Clan’s peerless Dragon Among Men is renowned for his upright heart! He has always held our Young Heir Dang in the highest regard!”

“That is true… Father is a good man. Our family… is not always so.”

The air had shifted for reasons none had anticipated.

“Come now—there is no use dwelling on it. What is done is done—let us make good use of what we have learned.” He offered a few more words to the downcast Seol-ha. “This may well be our chance to deal Wudang a heavy blow.”

Zhuge Seol-ha’s spirits brightened instantly.

“You are right! I would see them repaid for every slight! Hee hee hee!”

“What is it, brother?”

“Nothing.”

Yang-hwi felt no remorse at having guided Baek Heon-so and Chudal along this path. Yet something felt… amiss. *Seol-ha… do not laugh so lightly, not with that look in your eyes…*

“In any case—Chudal. Out with it, what did you discover? Anything of value?”

“Indeed there is. Something most interesting—including Wudang’s ultimate ambition.”

Even Dang Gun leaned forward, caught up now.

The Dragon-Phoenix Assembly was ordinarily run jointly by elders from many leading sects. Yet Wudang had forced through the decision to host it alone, pressuring the others into submission. They had all wondered why.

“To establish themselves as head of the Nine Great Sects and claim the title of the world’s foremost sect?”

“That is part of it—but there is far more.”

A knowing smile touched Yang-hwi’s lips. Chudal had returned with more than they had dared hope for.

*Wudang’s final goal. We must stop it. I had not thought we would uncover it so soon. It is perfect.*

“First—you are right, Brother Dang. Wudang seeks prestige and standing. But their plan is bold beyond imagining.”

“Tell us. What did you find?”

“They intend to form an alliance. That is Wudang’s aim.”

Dang Gun looked perplexed.

“That is hardly unusual. We ourselves have formed the Wing Alliance.”

Using even the once-a-decade Dragon-Phoenix Assembly to expand influence seemed oddly small for such a purpose. Sects formed alliances whenever their interests aligned—common practice.

“The name they intend to use is the Murim Alliance.”

The words were simple, but Dang Gun’s face hardened. He grasped the ambition at once.

“That goes too far.”

“And it is arrogance.”

Murim—it meant the world. The entire realm of martial artists. To brand an alliance with that name… the implication was plain.

“They seek authority over all of Murim—or at the very least, every orthodox sect within it.”

It was not fame or rank they hungered for. They sought real power—to command the entire orthodox martial world. That was Wudang’s true prize: dominion.

“And even that is only a means to an end.”

“What do you mean, Brother Hwi?”

“It is obvious. They intend to bend every orthodox sect toward a single purpose.”

And it was that purpose Yang-hwi was determined to stop.

“Ah—there is one more thing, Brother Hwi.”

“What is it?”

“The Dragon-Phoenix Assembly’s final matches—at the latest, the semifinal rounds. That is when every leader or appointed representative from the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Clans will gather. Invited by Wudang.”

It was to be kept secret, of course—but as a direct descendant of the Zhuge Clan, Seol-ha knew.

“I see. The Murim Alliance… I wonder if they will truly succeed in forming it.”

“The odds are against it, but Wudang will pull every string they can.”

“Then their every move matters all the more. Chudal—what else?”

“Ah… that is all I found.”

“Is that truly everything?”

Chudal looked as though he had been wronged.

“Hey—gaining this much is no small catch! Do not look at me like that—it stings!”

It was true, yet…

“Nothing more? Are you certain?”

“You speak as though you have never walked this path yourself! Moving unseen demands infinite care! There was so little time!”

He had a point. Their time within the Taiji Sect had been brief. To uncover Wudang’s ultimate design was an achievement in itself.

“Hm. Yet it remains vague.”

“We need specifics—how exactly do they intend to proceed?”

“Should we steal again… that is, act for justice once more?”

*Again?*

Dang Gun revised his earlier judgment. Chudal’s moral line had not simply shifted—it might have vanished entirely.

“There is no need. We shall make our own inquiries. We are counted among the 36 Great Sects, yet Wudang shared nothing with us. That alone tells me much.”

*They simply assumed the Dang Clan would obey,* Yang-hwi thought. That was how the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Clans had always seen them. But the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly would change that.

“We have already taken their Heavenly-grade invitation and humiliated them publicly. So…”

As Yang-hwi spoke, someone knocked at their guest chamber door.

“…we can anticipate how the Taiji Sect and Wudang will respond.”

“Pardon me—the Taiji Sect Leader has arrived to call upon you.”

They had prepared for this moment—but not like this. This was entirely unexpected.

No one had foreseen it. Why was he here?

“Chudal!”

“This cannot be!”

All eyes went wide; faces paled. Chudal looked most stricken of all.

“There is no way they found me out! Truly! I swear it!”

“Then why is he at our door, you fool?!”

“Eek—what do we do? Should we run?”

“Everyone—remain calm. Your faces! Control your expressions!”

A solemn presence made its way up the stairs. Moments later, the Taiji Sect Leader stood before them.

“Members of the Dang Clan, Baek Clan, and Zhuge Clan. Greetings. I am Yeon Mu, Leader of the Taiji Sect.”

In all things, the first to speak sets the tone. Yang-hwi acted at once.

“We offer our deepest apologies for our conduct!”

“You knew already. I might have expected as much—using the tournament as cover to stir up trouble while I was absent.”

There was unmistakable edge in his voice. Yet the group breathed a quiet sigh of relief. *It is not about Chudal…*

If not for that—then why had he come?
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