The base of the Forces of Justice.
The main conference venue where all major matters of the Forces of Justice and the Yulin were decided.
Due to keeping the other major powers in check and the other major roles they played as one of the three major factions, the leaders couldn't gather for quite some time.
Moreover, especially since the leaders were scrambling to uncover the Blade God Six Martial clans plan, it took even more time.
However, despite waiting such a long time, the leaders of the Forces of Justice had gathered.
The number of leaders gathered couldn't be compared to when they were discussing the non-aggression treaty.
At the top was the seat of the Great Leader.
On either side of him were foreign affairs Gam Woon-seo and internal affairs Ha Ji-jin.
At the first seat on the right side of the table, people were seated in sequential order by military rank.
1st leader, Shanxi Sword Master, Mu Gu-cheon
2nd leader, Shaolin Temple's head, Saint Gak-yeon.
4th leader, Hangsan clan, under the Shaolin Temple, Monk Sathi.
5th leader, Wudang clan, Hyun Jinja.
6th leader, Mount Hua clan, Poong Chungwun.
8th leader, Head of the Four Skies clan, Dang Pil-yeon.
10th leader, Elder of the Jeom Jang clan, Ho Hyeon-ja
11th leader, Beggars association head, Hong Palwoo
12th leader, Elder of the Kong Tong clan, Elder Cheong-su.
13th leader, Jegal clan head, Jegal Young.
14th leader, Jongnam clan, Elder Jeokyang.
16th leader, Jinju family head, Yeon Young-in.
17th leader, Habuk clan's head, Peng-gyu
In addition to the leaders and heads of each clan, each combat group that held power stood in the room.
The only ones who couldn't attend were four leaders and two commanders.
Of course, they had reasons for not being able to attend.
They were 7th leader Moyong Kang, who hadn't returned from the North, Hwang Bo-neung, who died in the North Sea, the head of the Nam Gung clan who died in the Jin Castle, and the 9th leader who was killed in a surprise attack by the Blade God Six Martial clan in his province.
And the two commanders who didn't attend were Yeon Buso, who was depressed, and Kang Soah, who went to the North and lost his life.
'The atmosphere isn't that serious.'
Poong Chungwun of the Mount Hua clan thought while looking at the room.
The heads of each clan had gathered.
With such strong people gathered, the atmosphere should've been intense.
'Why were we summoned so urgently? What happened?'
For the ones who didn't know, it was suspenseful, so they wondered why.
The Great Leader looked at all the leaders with a hardened expression.
1st leader Mu Gu-cheon, who was the closest to Yi Mok, was the one who opened his mouth.
"Firstly, I would like to express my gratitude to the leaders and commanders who responded to the emergency order. We don't have much time, so I'll get right to the point."
Woong!
Everyone knew that something had happened.
What was the reason for such an emergency meeting that one of the five strongest warriors, Yi Mok, had to call for them right away?
"Come in."
As the order from Yi Mok fell, a man in a black uniform entered the room.
The man, with half white hair and drooping eyes, was Mak Wijong, the temporary captain of the Black Shadow group.
'Why is it that person?'
'Lieutenant Mak? Wasn't he part of the north's contingent?'
A few people who knew him were puzzled.
No one was allowed to attend the meetings of the leaders unless they were a commander or above.
'Didn't he leave for the North Sea with Commander Kang?'
In their last meeting, there were a few leaders who knew that Kang Soah, the second son of Yi Mok, was sent to the North Sea as the leader of the contingent.
But the contingent hadn't returned, so why was this man back?
Thud!
"The new commander of the Black Shadow group, Mak Wijong, greets the leaders."
"Commander?"
Everyone was shocked, unable to understand what happened.
The commander of the Black Shadow group is Kang Soah, and he was the one who created the group, there was no way he would give up the title.
Unless he died.
"Great Leader, what does this mean?"
2nd leader, Gak-yeon, was asking the question when Yi Mok cut off his words.
"First, we will listen to his report."
"Amitabha."
It was embarrassing that he was asked to be quiet, so Gak-yeon kept mumbling sutras.
Unless something happened, there was no way that their Great Leader would act as such.
At that, Mak Wijong spoke.
"I will get to the main point. We have found the base of the Blade God Six Martial clan!"
"Blade God Six Martial clan!!!"
Mumble
Whispering and mumbling rose at the unexpected news.
After a portion of their province was taken away, the leaders tried their best to find their base.
Despite creating several troops, everyone went missing, and no one managed to get any information.
At that moment, one leader raised his hand while speaking.
"Hold your horses. Now, the new commander, Commander Mak, found something that no leader has been able to find until now?"
At that, Mak Wijong spoke with a light smile.
"Yes. Leader."
"Where the hell is this so-called place?"
Peng-gyu, the head of the Peng family, who lost his arm after meeting Chun Yeowun in the Imperial Palace, asked.
The other leaders focused on Mak Wijong, wondering what his answer would be.
As everyone looked at him, waiting for an answer, he pointed to Zhejiang province, which was under the Yulin's territory.
"It's right here."
"Isn't that Mount Huang?"
The place where Mak Wijong pointed to was Mount Huang of Zhejiang province.
A scenic spot, but the mountains around it were rough and surrounded by steep peaks.
If it was there, then it was the best place to hide their base.
'Ah! This is why the emergency meeting was issued?'
All the leaders now understood the reason.
If what they found was indeed true, it made sense to call in all the leaders.
If the base could be identified for sure, which no one knew until now, Yulin could wage war.
"Commander Mak! That's great. This achievement deserves great praise!"
Jegal Young, the head of the Jegal clan, spoke in an excited voice.
But not everyone believed that.
Hong Palwoo spoke.
"How did Commander Mak find their base? Up until now, even the beggars association members over there always ended up dying."
After striking the forts of Yulin, the defense against the Blade God Six Martial clan had become firm.
Even the beggars, who were known to be information gatherers, were killed or disappeared after entering the Zhejiang province, which was why he felt suspicious about it.
"I understand why you think that way. But please see this first, leader."
At the request of Mak Wijong, the Great Leader nodded his head.
As the room doors opened, two men came in with something much larger than an average cart.
"Th-this?"
"Goodness!"
Everyone was shocked by what they saw.
What was in the cart was the head of the dragon with his eyes turned over.
Hyun Jin-ja, a leader, shouted in shock.
"The Dragon Turtle!"
It was the head of the dead dragon.
The head's size itself resembled the legends of the dragon.
"Amitabha!"
Gak-yeon closed his eyes at the sight.
Most of the other leaders who saw it got up from their seats to get a better look at the severed head of the dragon.
Drrr!
It wasn't the end of the meeting.
Another cart came in, loaded with something hidden in woven straw cloth, decomposing corpses were inside it.
However, each body was unique.
"H-head is?"
Their heads exploded.
"Euk!"
Everyone covered their noses at the same time.
Hong Palwoo burst out at the sight of dead corpses.
"What the hell are these corpses?"
"They're members, masters of the Blade God Six Martial clan."
'!?'
Hong Palwoo, who was shocked, approached the corpses at the word 'master'.
There was a simple way to know if one was from the Blade God Six Martial clan.
Those belonging to the clan, the ones who were masters, had restrictions placed on them, making sure that no information would leak even when captured.
Tak!
Hong Palwoo's eyes trembled as one hand covered his nose, and the other looked for the pulse.
The same symptoms that the other corpses of the Blade God Six martial clan in the past had.
"... true. He is right."
When the verification was done, the room became noisy.
At that, Yi Mok spoke in a loud voice.
"I hope everyone quiets down and goes back to their seats!"
At the loud order from Yi Mok, everyone went back to their seats, and the room became silent.
When it became silent, Yi Mok brought up the main topic.
"As we have all seen, there is the head of the dragon and then corpses of the Blade God Six Martial clan. Commander Mak of the Black Shadow group has successfully tracked those who were fleeing from the North Sea and found the base of that beastly clan and captured the dragon's head."
At the brief praise from the Great Leader, Mak Wijong nodded his head.
It wasn't something to be happy about.
Certainly, according to the words of the Great Leader, it was indeed a great achievement for the Forces of Justice.
It was something that no one else has ever accompanied.
"The evidence is solid, but I have a question."
Someone raised the hand with doubt.
It was elder Cheong-su.
He had resigned from the position of leader, but when he managed to win the bet he placed against Peng-gyu, he was given his position back.
"What do you mean? Elder Cheong-su?"
"Of course, the head and corpses seem very credible, and I will acknowledge them, but how did you find their base, which no one else managed to find?"
Mak Wijong tried to avoid that question previously too.
Moreover, if they tried to bring out a theory that he could have stolen the dragon's head and returned, they wouldn't trust him at all.
To that, Mak Wijong answered without hesitation.
"What elder Cheong-su asks is right. If they had their full strength, I wouldn't have come back alive."
"Hmm? Now, do you mean to say that they weren't their usual selves?"
"Yes. When I secretly pursued them and found their base in Mount Huang, almost all their forces seemed tired. If we all head there right away, we will be able to subdue them."
"Ah!"
At those words from Mak Wijong, everyone looked at each other.
They could guess how important this meeting was.
'Are we finally going to move?'
Yi Mok must have decided to wage an all-out war against the Blade God Six Martial clan.
All the leaders who ran the Yulin met at one place, the Forces of Justice's base.
'If what he says is true...'
If they gathered all their power and went to their base, they would wipe out the entire clan.
Of course, only if it was clear that the Yulin had the upper hand would a war do any good.
"Military leader."
"Yes."
At the call from Yi Mok, the military leader, Yoo Beom-ryeo, seated to the right, got up.
He took out three chess pieces from his pocket and placed one knight on the so-called base of the Blade God Six Martial clan.
Tak!
Then, two more knights were placed on the left and upper sides of the mountain.
Two rooks were placed on the north and left sides.
"King?"
When everyone was puzzled, Yoo Beom-ryeo opened his mouth.
"This is information that the Great Leader recently got from the Forces of Evil. Recently, the head of the Blade God Six Martial clan, the Blade Lord, led his army to Lhasa."
"Ugh!"
"That means?"
The leaders couldn't help but be shocked at the unexpected news.
If so, their main base was indeed empty.
Yi Mok spoke while pointing to the two knights on the north.
"Perhaps some might already know this, but the clan seems to have aimed all their power into getting the core of the dragon in the North Sea."
Woong!
When Yi Mok said that, those who didn't understand began to mumble at the sudden realization.
The fact that the contingent went north was made public, but the reason wasn't disclosed.
Who knew that the dragon, a spirit beast, was what the Blade God Six Martial clan was aiming for.
Yoo Beom-ryeo spoke.
"From the information gathered so far, we found out that their goal is to conquer the entire Jianghu."
Yoo Beom-ryeo.
He had the official position of military leader, which meant he was the Military Commander of the Yulin.
Ever since the Blade God Six Martial clan turned into a pain for Yulin, he asked numerous people as well as Jegal Sohi with numerous commissions and analyzed them.
At that time, Mak Wijong brought in his information, making him realize what the Blade God Six Martial clan was aiming for.
"They targeted the Imperial Palace, the North Sea, and the spirit beast in Lhasa."
Their purpose became clear.
Their reason for constantly cornering the other factions while avoiding any counterattacks, everything came clear.
"Amitabha! The spirit beasts? Which means they are aiming to covet the cores just like they did with the Flame Qilin in the palace?"
Yoo Beom-ryeo nodded in response to Gak-yeon's question and pulled something out of his sleeve.
A book,
"Moral Sutras of Heaven?"
It was one of the Three Great Books.
A book that talked about myths and legends, which the scholars didn't acknowledge.
"What about that book?"
At that, he turned to a page and spoke.
"As Saint Gak-yeon said, the Blade God Six Martial clan are targeting the spirit beasts. To be precise, they are aiming for the cores of the spirit beasts."
"The cores? For the sake of power?"
"Well, honestly, it's just another legend in this book but seeing how they are aiming for the cores of the five spirit beasts, I'm certain."
"What the hell is that? Just answer already."
Hong Palwoo urged him as he was running out of patience.
"They seem to believe that immortality is possible."
"Immortality?"
"It's said here that the one who attains the five cores of the beasts will attain eternal immortality."
All the leaders and commanders who were listening thought that it had to be a mistake.
Everyone knew that the core of any spirit beast would give immense power and even prolong a person's life.
However, the term 'eternal immortality' meant real immortality.
Hong Palwoo of the beggars association asked with a frown.
"Hold on. Unless this old man has heard something wrong, you are actually referring to the immortality that was supposedly coveted by some emperor?"
"Yes."
Mumble!
'Immortality?'
'This has to be some kind of joke! Does the Blade God Six Martial clan really believe in such bizarre legends?'
'Did they really analyze our enemies?'
The room became noisier.
It was a natural reaction when the Military Commander of the Forces of Justice decided to base his findings on a mysterious book which the scholars didn't even acknowledge.
At that, the Great Leader spoke in a loud voice.
"Of course, not many people believe it. That is also the case with this Great Leader. However, the important thing isn't the concept of immortality. According to the information gathered by the Military Commander and Commander Mak, we know we can corner those bastards. Military Commander!"
At those words, Yoo Beok-ryeo pulled out two knights with the letters of 'Conquest' written on them.
He placed one knight on Mount Huang, the base of the Blade God Six Martial clan, and the other on the Changbai mountains southeast of Liaoning province.
As everyone looked there, Yoo Beom-ryeo opened his mouth.
"The Great Leader has decided to wage an all-out war for the future of Yulin."
'!!!'
The words of an all-out war made all the leaders in the room become serious.
There have been many minor wars between the three major factions for the past decades, but there has never been an all-out war.
However, now they were planning for such a war.
'Was this why the commander of the west was called? But, if we decide to move, wouldn't the Forces of Evil in the west put us in a dangerous situation?'
Hyun Jin-ja, an elder of the Wudang clan, was concerned about it.
As if reading his thoughts, Yoo Beom-ryeo explained.
"Currently, the Forces of Evil is in a very chaotic state as a civil war is going on. And this is the perfect time for us to wage war."
"What about the Demonic Cult? Since we are allies with them and we have decided to go all out, wouldn't having them with us reduce the amount of damage that we take from the Blade God Six Martial clan?"
Jegal Young of the Jegal clan asked.
At those words, all the leaders nodded their heads.
When going to the war against the Blade God Six Martial clan, if the Demonic Cult participates, then the Yulin would get to conserve their power.
In addition, there were concerns that the Demonic Cult would stab them in the back.
At that moment, a strong objection was raised by a man.
"There is no need to get help from the Demonic Cult in this all-out war! And as the Military Commander has mentioned, this is for the sake of the future of Yulin and the Forces of Justice!"
Anger rose in the man's eyes as he spoke.
"Great Leader... what does this mean?"
"According to the reports from Commander Mak, the Demonic Cult and their Lord are in the North Sea."
"The Demonic Cult is in the North Sea?"
Everyone seemed puzzled at the unexpected information.
Not long ago, they knew that the Demonic Cult was busy with the establishment of their new academy.
So why did the Lord of the Demonic Cult head to the North Sea all of a sudden?
Mak Wijong resolved the doubts of the leaders.
"The core of the Dragon Turtle has gone into the hands of the Demonic Cult's Lord, Chun Yeowun. He is also aiming for the other cores just like the Blade God Six Martial clan."
"The Lord of Demonic Cult is aiming for the cores of the spirit beasts?"
Everyone's complexion darkened.
That monster, which was difficult for them to handle without any cores, was aiming for the cores?
Which meant, if the core did fall into his hands, then Chun Yeowun must have gotten stronger than before.
Peng-gyu spoke.
"No. I don't know about this concept of immortality, but isn't it too dangerous to let that core enter into the hands of that monster?"
Yoo Beom-ryeo answered.
"The war is to prevent that from happening."
"Huh? What do you mean? The core has already gone to him, how do you plan on preventing that?"
"It isn't over yet."
Yoo Beom-ryeo pointed his finger at Changbai mountain.
"I don't know about the spirit beasts and stuff. However, according to the rumors, there is a legend about the Feng bo in Changbai Mountain."
"No... are you talking about the white tiger?"
The leaders close to the mountains, who heard of the rumors, immediately mumbled the words 'white tiger'.
They heard about some magical beast walking around in Changbai Mountain.
But they never expected it to be a spirit beast.
"This book here talks about one of the five spirit beasts, the Feng bo. If you look at the description in here, it resembles the white tiger, a spirit beast in Changbai Mountain."
"God..."
If the white tiger was indeed a spirit beast, then it's bound to have a core.
Then, as Yoo Beom-ryeo mentioned before, the spirit beast would surely be targeted by either the Blade God Six Martial clan or the Demonic Cult or both.
If either of those two clans gets the core, then the Yulin is bound to disappear in an instant.
"Ha, shouldn't we stop them?"
"Right. The all-out war is for our sake!"
Yoo Beom-ryeo pointed to the knight on the map, indicating the power of the faction.
"From now on, the Great Leader will divide the forces into two groups which will head for Mount Huang and the Changbai mountains."
All the leaders listened to the entire plan without raising any doubts.
Perhaps, it was because this all-out war would determine the future of the Yulin.
Smirk.
The corners of Mak Wijong's lips went up while looking at the leaders and commanders of the Forces of Justice.
'Commander Kang... your death has turned into a spark which gives rise to a huge flame.'
At the same time, the Great Plains.
The procession of the Demonic Cult's warriors continued in the southeast direction.
In five days, they crossed half of the Great Plains.
Unlike when they first entered the place for the first time, despite coming across barbarians, they never attacked them.
The news that Asara, the War Chief who had hegemony over the Great Plains, got both his arms cut off spread all throughout the land.
Unknowingly, Chun Yeowun, who was known as the 'Demon God', turned into an object of fear among the barbarians.
Swoosh!
The warriors of the Demonic Cult lit bonfires here and there. As the day darkened, the procession stopped, and the people were busy setting up fires.
Unlike when they were in a hurry because of the dragon, they headed south this time and had sufficient rest.
"Uh? Are those Ger?"
Hu Bong looked amazed at the barracks and other things they brought from the Ice Palace.
The barracks they brought were from the Ice Palace, which were portable ones that could be used in the Great Plains.
They had a cylindrical wall and a dome top.
"Can we use that?"
"Lieutenant Hu, didn't you say that you wanted to try it?"
Dan Jucheon asked.
Throughout the journey, Hu Bong followed Dan Jucheon's horse, saying that their tents were weird, and he insisted that he should be given one.
"Oh oh! The inside is so cool!"
"... I'm glad you like it."
Hu Bong was elated when he entered the Ger.
This man, Hu Bong, didn't seem to be that skilled, but his energy seemed like he was at the level of an elder.
Dan Jucheon asked Mong Mu, the 6th elder who was looking at the Ger from close by.
"Do you want one too?"
"I'm fine. Rather. I hope you could give one to our Lord."
"Ah!"
Mong Mu thought that Dan Jucheon didn't want to give one to Chun Yeowun.
But the truth was when he looked around, he couldn't find Chun Yeowun.
"The Lord is?"
"Probably with the former lord."
"Ah, are they training?"
"Huhuh, I guess so."
They all knew that Chun Yeowun and Chun Inji would separate themselves from the troops to train.
A bonfire was lit in a place on a meadow a few miles away from the troops, and an old man was wielding a sword.
The old man with little hairs growing out like a beard was the former Lord, Chun Inji.
Chow! Chow! Chow!
His sword, which was unfolding in front of the fire, was the Sword Force of the Sky Demon.
The splendid trajectory of the sword unfolded.
Chun Inji's sword, which unfolded until the fourth form, filled him with satisfaction.
"That was wonderful, grandfather."
"Huh, thank you. You know this by following the basics."
Chun Inji realized how simple the technique Chun Ma made was.
Chun Ma who made the Sword Force of the Sky Demon was a genius.
Chun Inji didn't know that by subsequently using each form, the technique only became stronger.
'Upsetting.'
Chun Inji felt lost.
It would have been better if he had built up more internal energy before using the technique, but it was impossible for him to change from Reverse Health Preservation back to the Demonic Cult's way that easily.
"Oh, would you like to practice the fifth one too?"
"The fifth form is a lot harder than you think."
The theory was clear.
However, it wasn't easy to unify 24 swords into one.
Still, Chun Inji was proud as he could properly learn the technique.
"Yeowun-ah, I'm sorry for what you had to go through."
Chin Inji apologized to Yeowun.
In a way, he should be the one who taught his grandson, but now, his grandson was the one teaching him.
"No. Since you are the former Lord, learning this sword isn't so weird."
"However, the fact that this old man, who resigned from the position of the Lord, is trying to learn the martial arts of the cult, the best technique..."
"... not the best."
"Huh?"
At Chun Yeowun's words, Chun Inji was puzzled.
The Sword Force of the Sky Demon was the best martial art created by their ancestor.
However, the second generation Chun Ma denied that it was the best.
"What do you mean? The Sky Demon Sword isn't the best?"
Chun Yeowun pondered for a while before opening his mouth to explain.
He didn't want to tell him, but then Chun Inji had devoted his life for the sake of the Demonic Cult, which meant that he deserved to know it.
"..."
"... on the valley cliff, the sword left behind by Chun Ma was unfinished."
"Unfinished?"
Chun Inji titled his head at the words he was hearing for the first time.
At that, Chun Yeowun lifted his sword and spoke.
"You'll understand it better if you see it for yourself."
With those words, Chun Yeowun moved, drawing a delicate trail with his sword under the moonlit night, and unfolded the sword.
Chow! Chow! Chow! Chow!
Chun Inji's eyes trembled as he looked at Chun Yeowun's sword.
He thought that he couldn't be shocked anymore, but he was wrong.
He couldn't help but be astonished when he saw the true sword, the swordplay of Chun Yeowun was thrilling.
"Uh-how did you get that sword?"
If his eyes weren't seeing things wrong, the new sword was mixed with the Sword Force of the Sky Demon and the Extreme Art of the Blade God.
The sword was turning into something which would be difficult for the human body to unfold.
'Is this really a sword that humans can use?'
When he finished the sword, Chun Yeowun spoke in a calm voice to Chun Inji, who was shocked.
"This is it."
"Th-that is the unfinished sword that the ancestor made?"
Strictly speaking, it was a sword technique that no one tried to complete.
When Chun Inji was in thought, Chun Yeowun spoke.
"... I named it Sword Art of the Demon God."
Sword Art of the Demon God.
This legendary sword technique was something that no one except for Chun Yeowun could learn.
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