The defeat of the Flying Heaven Sword Ghost and the victory of the Blood-Sucking Sword Demon.

The battle of the heroes representing the two forces that had clashed at Mount Qingcheng had ended in Ma Seongun’s victory.

Mu Yu, the mastermind behind the rumor, smiled with pleasure.

“In the end, the truth doesn’t matter.”

The actual result of the fight was not important.

What was truly important was the momentum.

Jin Sohyun had won the fight but had fled with serious injuries, and Ma Seongun had been defeated but had recovered quickly.

‘It will take time for that bastard to return.’

Mu Yu planned to end the fight quickly before Jin Sohyun returned.

And the false rumor that Mu Yu had spread spread quickly throughout the Central Plains like a plague.

“They say that the Flying Heaven Sword Ghost was defeated by the Blood-Sucking Sword Demon at Mount Qingcheng and fled. Although he is said to have saved his life…”

Gu Daepil, the current master of the Beggars' Sect, who had received the rumors brought by the beggars of the Beggars' Sect, also delivered the news to the elders of the alliance, including the White Moon Divine Lord and the current sect master of the Wudang Sect, Ilmun.

‘Did he succeed in escaping?’

Ilmun, who had heard the story, swallowed his question and felt a slight sense of relief.

‘That’s a relief.’

If Jin Sohyun, who was called the Flying Heaven Sword Ghost, had won against the Blood-Sucking Sword Demon.

And if he had succeeded in killing him.

Ilmun’s plan would surely have come to nothing.

He was already concerned about Gu Daepil, who was not taking the lead and was quietly watching the situation from behind.

‘The Beggars' Sect will soon notice that the beggar who came with Gwak Myeong has disappeared from the Wudang Sect.’

If Cheon Yusin was the fox of the frontier, Gu Daepil was the old snake of the Central Plains.

Although he rarely came to the forefront, most things went through the Beggars' Sect.

In other words, Gu Daepil’s influence was at work in all those things, whether he knew it or not.

Nevertheless, people were hardly aware of the existence of the Beggars' Sect. This was what Gu Daepil intended.

‘I have to deal with the Blood-Sucking Sword Demon myself.’

More important than anything else was to deal with the Blood-Sucking Sword Demon himself.

Now that he had found out the reason for his strength and his weakness, it was time to achieve his long-cherished wish.

“It’s a pity. He could have been a blessing for the martial world.”

Unlike his words, Cheon Yusin’s face looked calm.

He, too, did not wish for Jin Sohyun’s victory.

‘It is my and the White Moon Palace’s role to save the martial world from crisis.’

It was not something that a lazybones from Shanxi should do.

Kung kung— kung—!

With the sound of rough footsteps, a middle-aged man with an angry face entered the temporarily built tent.

He was a person that everyone knew well.

“Namgung Clan Head!”

The person who appeared, receiving everyone’s attention, was the head of the Namgung Clan, Namgung Muhyeok.

He passed by the elders of the alliance, including Cheon Yusin and Ilmun, as if they were folding screens, and stood in front of Gu Daepil.

“Is that true? Master?”

“If you’re talking about the Flying Heaven Sword Ghost, it’s true.”

“Is he alive?”

“Seeing that the story of him running away is circulating, it seems he was seriously injured but succeeded in escaping.”

“Phew…”

Namgung Muhyeok placed his two hands on the round table in the center of the tent and supported his huge body.

‘That’s a relief. That’s a relief.’

Namgung Muhyeok, who had arrived in Sichuan, did not know how surprised he was when he heard the unbelievable rumor.

Namgung Muhyeok had come to the Martial Alliance in one go as soon as he had arrived in Sichuan to hear the truth of the rumor.

It was to hear the reality of the rumor from the mouth of the Beggars' Sect Master.

‘It’s good that he’s alive.’

Namgung Muhyeok was sufficiently impressed by the fact that Jin Sohyun, who had been defeated in the fight with the Blood-Sucking Sword Demon, was alive.

“That’s a relief!”

Following him, Peng Sogeon, who had entered the tent, appeared with the leader of the Fierce Tiger Iron Sword, Peng Ohyun, whom he had met on his way to Sichuan.

Behind them were the elite of the Namgung Clan, the Changungdae, and the masters of the family, and even the factions of the branch families had joined, and finally, a group of people in white robes had joined the alliance.

They were the martial artists of the Zhuge Clan, who had opened the closed door with the combined strength of the Namgung Clan and the Hebei Peng Clan.

“Please understand that the clan head could not come himself as the situation of the family is what it is.”

Since the situation of the Zhuge Clan was not favorable, the master of the White Azure Pavilion, Zhuge Yeop, who was in charge of the major and minor affairs of the Zhuge Clan in place of the clan head, joined the alliance.

“I came with the talents of the family, so it will be a great help.”

Zhuge Yeop came with the talents of the Zhuge Clan, who were called the White Mountain Masters.

They were called the White Mountain Masters because they always carried a white fan, and they were said to be the best when it came to knowledge of formations and mechanisms.

Also, there were those who had appeared with the Zhuge Clan. They were the people of a sect called the Byeokhaemun.

They also had poor martial arts skills, but they were the best when it came to installing mechanism formations.

“To think that even the Byeokhaemun has come. It’s very reassuring. What happened to the other sects?”

At Cheon Yusin’s question, Dokgo Jeokmyeong answered.

“The Huashan Sect and the Jongnam Sect said they would join the Kongtong Sect and come down to Sichuan as soon as they had finished recovering from their damages, and the Kunlun Sect said they would send support to Sichuan separately. The route and the date of joining were not shared for fear of being leaked.”

“Excellent.”

Cheon Yusin nodded his head with satisfaction.

The power of the righteous martial world, which had been divided, was gradually gathering into one.

And in the center of it was Cheon Yusin.

“Now that the heroes of the righteous martial world have gathered in one place, it seems we will never lose.”

Cheon Yusin said this and smiled brightly.

“The righteous martial world will win this time too. Everything is for the righteous cause.”

“For the righteous cause.”

When the martial artists of the righteous martial world raised their voices and spoke of the glory of the righteous path, Namgung Muhyeok could not say anything.

His gaze was fixed on the distant empty space.

‘Did Sohyun lose.’

He still could not believe Jin Sohyun’s defeat.

‘If that rumor is true… the Blood-Sucking Sword Demon is surely not an easy opponent.’

Namgung Muhyeok placed his hand on his chest.

His chest felt stuffy, as if a stone had been placed on it.

This was anxiety.

“Phew…”

Unlike Cheon Yusin and the martial artists of the righteous martial world, who were burning with fighting spirit, Namgung Muhyeok, who had let out a short sigh, had his eyes tremble like a candle about to go out.

***

“Already followed us here!?”

The martial artists of the Sichuan Alliance, who had fled from Mount Qingcheng, were fleeing breathlessly from the poison men of the Poison Sect, who were getting closer and closer.

They had been running for two days without a break, but the journey of taking the injured was not easy.

“I guess we can’t.”

As the Qingxu True Man stopped, the Jingyu Master, who was moving with him, also stopped in her tracks.

The two looked at each other as if they had had the same thought.

“Jingyu Master… you are…”

“I had to just watch as the Qingcheng swordsmen were dying, unable to overcome my fear.”

“…”

“The nuns of the Bokho Sword do not know all the martial arts of the main sect, but even if I die, the lineage of the Emei Sect will not be completely cut off.”

The Qingxu True Man had to nod his head with a desolate heart.

“We will buy time, so run away quickly!”

As the martial artists of the alliance hesitated, the Qingxu True Man shouted as if scolding them.

“Hurry!!”

At the shout of the Qingxu True Man and the Jingyu Master, the martial artists of the alliance stomped their feet once again.

The Qingxu True Man, who was watching them cross the mountain, drew his sword from his waist.

Next to him, the Jingyu Master also drew her sword and stood.

“It is an honor to have my end with the Jingyu Master.”

“Me too.”

The Qingxu True Man and the Jingyu Master raised their swords towards the approaching poison men.

Ududududu—!!

The poison men rushed in with rough footsteps.

The sword of the Qingxu True Man and the sword of the Jingyu Master shone at the same time.

The elegant sword ki that unfolded from the two swords cut the necks of the rushing poison men.

‘Their skills are insignificant.’

The martial arts skills of the poison men were, at best, close to the second-rate.

From time to time, the claw technique imbued with poisonous ki came threateningly, but the Qingxu True Man and the Jingyu Master were masters of the Qingcheng Sect and the Emei Sect, which belonged to the Nine Great Sects.

The two martial artists avoided the sharp claws of the poison men without difficulty and cut them down.

“Keuheup!”

“It’s poisonous ki! We have to stop breathing!”

The problem was, as expected, the thick poisonous ki that the poison men emitted when they died.

The Jingyu Master spread her sleeves wide and created a wind.

Thanks to that, she succeeded in blowing away the poisonous ki, but at some point, the poison men had surrounded them as if to surround them.

“How amazing. Is it natural for those of the righteous path to sacrifice their lives?”

The Poison Sect Master, Sahwangcheon, Hamgi, appeared, smiling slyly.

“Poison Sect Master…”

“Don’t worry. In the end, death is the same. It’s just a matter of whether it’s fast… or slow.”

The masters of the Poison Sect, including Hamgi, took out daggers from their bosoms.

A unique evil ki was felt from the poison-coated daggers.

“It’s just an hour at best.”

A cold light lingered on Hamgi’s face.

“That’s the time you can buy.”

With a signal, the poison men and the masters of the Poison Sect rushed in at once.

The Qingxu True Man and the Jingyu Master, who had already prepared for death, prepared for their final resistance against the approaching poison men.

It was then.

Buuung—!!

Something that flew, tearing the air, tore apart the poison men at once.

Kwadeudeuk!!

As if that wasn’t enough, it went on to shatter the trees, and it was a huge axe connected by a chain.

With the unique charreuk— sound of the chain, the blood-stained axe returned to the trees.

“Wh-what was that?”

In front of the flustered Hamgi, someone appeared.

The man who had appeared from between the trees smiled cheerfully, with his axe on his shoulder.

“Hello.”

At the man’s appearance, Hamgi narrowed his eyes and looked him up and down.

“You don’t look like you belong to a martial faction. Seeing your appearance, you look like a bandit… who are you.”

“Kang Seopyeong.”

“Kang Seopyeong?”

“I’m the leader of the bandits you mentioned.”

“…!”

A look of bewilderment appeared on Hamgi’s face.

‘The general fortress master of the Green Forest?’

If it were a bandit, he would be a trivial being that he wouldn’t even glance at, as much as a passing dog, but if it were a bandit of the Green Forest, it would be different.

And if it were the fortress masters of the Green Forest and their leader, the general fortress master, the story would be different.

“Why is the Green Forest interfering in our fight?”

As Hamgi asked as if he didn’t understand, Kang Seopyeong shrugged his shoulders and came closer, revealing his teeth.

“So who told you to touch the nose hair of the sleeping Green Forest?”

“What?”

“The black-clothed bastards have touched our Green Forest family quite a bit. So we can’t just stand by, can we?”

“That’s with us…”

“Unrelated?”

“…”

Hamgi had nothing more to say.

Kang Seopyeong’s attitude and the timing of his appearance were coincidental.

“The righteous path must be in a hurry. To even hold hands with lowly bandits.”

“You bastards should have lived as if you were dead after the Ming Cult was destroyed. Why did you come out and act up.”

“Hmph! The Sichuan Tang Clan has been annihilated. Now the number one poison sect in the Central Plains is us… the Poison Sect.”

“Is that so?”

Kang Seopyeong said this and lowered his axe.

“I’ve hated those who use poison since long ago… if I just kill you, there will be no more bastards who use poison, right?”

“How arrogant! We are the Poison Sect!”

“Hahahaha!! Is that so? But what can I do?”

Kang Seopyeong raised one corner of his mouth and spread his two arms.

At the same time, numerous bandits appeared from all directions.

The number was so large that it could not be counted with the eyes.

Kang Seopyeong, with numerous bandits on his back, said slyly.

“We are the Green Forest.”

(End of Chapter)