NOTICE: Many of the novels have been removed because they might cause violations, which we were not aware of earlier.
Episode 270. In Sacheon (4)
Is it because I heard such an unexpected and absurd story?
Wow!
Clang!
In an instant, a strong wave of energy burst out from the sky, enough to make yellow lyrics flutter, and the teacup that had been spreading a gentle tea scent throughout the room was blown away and shattered upon hitting the wall. It was a scene that showed how agitated he was.
“What did you just say? Danggaju? Shaolin being destroyed? What does that mean…?”
Jawoon muttered in a trembling voice. Shaolin and extermination, how can those words coexist… …!
‘A person who remained calm and composed even after his limbs became numb… … .’
Hyun So thought so, but he couldn’t bring himself to say things like “fix it.” Since Dang Ji Hye, the head of the Dang family, had mentioned the destruction of Shaolin, it was hard to doubt the truth of the news. It should be considered an obvious fact. And since he specifically used the expression “destruction,” it should be seen as meaning that Shaolin monks could no longer be found in Sung San or even Hanam. They were facing a much more serious situation than Kunlun, which had been defeated in the Battle of Bangpa with the Demonic Cult and was now left with only a handful.
just as expected.
“This is news relayed by Zhuge Liang. As soon as the imperial court declared non-aggression in official affairs, Ma Guangcheon led his troops and advanced toward Songshan. Judging from the fact that the movement was immediate, it seems that this declaration of non-aggression in official affairs was intentional by Ma Guangcheon.”
“… … Actually, I was just thinking about that assumption. Ma Guangcheon’s movements are suspicious. It was really unsettling that he didn’t move for a while even after destroying the Anhui Nanggong family. I guessed that Ma Guangcheonju was injured while fighting the Sword King, or that he was wary of the Meng main force stationed in Hubei… … It seems that he was just waiting for an opportunity. As soon as he was sure that the imperial family and the Hebei Peng family would not intervene, he attacked Shaolin first.”
At Dang Ji-hye’s words, Hyun-so nodded as if he finally understood and opened his mouth. At the time of the Great Battle of Jeongma, the force that posed the greatest threat to the demons was definitely the Sungsan Shaolin. The auspicious true energy of the Taoist school also had the ability to destroy evil to some extent, but the martial arts of the Buddhist school—especially Shaolin—were said to be specialized in destroying demons. Even those who had mastered the magic arts to a certain extent often had difficulty dealing with the Shaolin monks. In fact, even in the times when magic flourished, it was difficult to find demons in Hanam. But not anymore.
“Shaolin has been destroyed. What on earth were you doing in Shaanxi? In particular, isn’t Huashan close enough to Shaolin? If you had sent support, you would have definitely arrived on time.”
The Kunlun Sect’s great disciple, Gu Jin, raised a question. He seemed a little angry, but it seemed that he was grateful and sorry to Ja Woon, who had come to save Kunlun despite knowing the dire state of the martial arts world.
“I don’t think I had the capacity.”
The one who muttered was Hyunso of the Gongdongpa. While practicing Sa-baek Tae-heo, he met with the powerful forces of the martial arts world, especially those living in the upper echelons of the martial arts world, and developed his own insight. In terms of Go, he is someone who, although he cannot predict exactly what moves his opponent will make, can guess the intention behind the moves already made.
“Just as Shaolin sent an ambassador, I understand that Hwasan and Jongnam each dispatched a Hwagyeong master to the alliance. They must have had the luxury of doing so at the time. Not only Shaolin, but even Namgung Sega was still alive and well. As soon as Hwagyeong masters began to gather one by one in the alliance, Ma Gwang-cheon attacked Namgung Sega as if he had been waiting for them… … Oh, maybe Ma Gwang-cheon had already figured out the movements of these masters.”
Hyunso thought that Magwangcheonju was a very deliberate person as he spoke. It felt like he had already established a certain situation and was confident enough to take action when he attacked Namgung Sega and Shaolin. No, maybe even before that – it wasn’t just a coincidence that Magwangcheon was able to take root in the land of Central Plains, but that Magwangcheonju Yeon Junghyuk had laid out the plan in his own way.
After a brief moment of reflection, Hyunso continued speaking.
“In Shaanxi, there is a family called Hwasisega, one of the three families of the Demonic Clan. As you all know, it is the family of the Demonic Grand Prince Hwamulong, and Magwangcheonju has placed the Shaanxi Hwaga as his vanguard. That is why Hwasan and Jongnam could not move. If they were to leave to help Shaolin, their homeland would be in danger.”
“I also know about the Magic Sword Family. Isn’t it the family of those who sacrificed their daughters to the Magwang Heavenly Lord and conceived his bloodline, thereby enjoying great fame? Even so, two of the six factions are in Shaanxi. Even though there was a power vacuum due to being dispatched to Meng, I heard that the leaders of Hwasando and Jongnamdo are accomplished masters of the flower realm. How can you be afraid of a new Magic Sword Family and just stand by and watch the end of Shaolin… …!”
“Now that I think about it, Gu Jin Do-woo might not know.”
Hyunso nodded as if he had guessed. Kunlun has been the gatekeeper of the Central Plains martial arts world for a very long time, and has been in conflict with the Heavenly Demon Sect of Xingang. Kunlun is located to the west of Qinghai, so it feels like it is far from the Central Plains martial arts world. Naturally, it is bound to be ignorant of the situation and news. It must also know about the three families of the Demon Sect only in fragments. That is why it is probably recognized as a new Demon Sect.
“As it is known, there are two masters of Shaanxi painting who are of the highest level.”
“… … !”
Gu Jin was shocked by Hyun So’s words. It couldn’t be otherwise. Even in a great sect like Kun Lun, they only have one master of Hwa Kyung. But they have two masters of that level. Then it’s understandable why Hwa or Jong Nam couldn’t move. If they went to help Shaolin, their hometown could end up being destroyed by Shaanxi Hwa.
At the same time, Gu Jin had a question. How could such a master be raised by a family with such a short history? The martial arts of ascension may be passed down from the Heavenly Lord of Magwang, but it takes a considerable amount of time to learn it, gain enlightenment, and become a peerless master. No matter how much the achievement of the martial arts of the devil is determined by the qualities of the body rather than the five senses, and even though progress is fast, this was so great that it seemed like a master had suddenly fallen from the sky.
The answer to that question was also provided by Hyunso.
“The Demonic Three Families – Shaanxi Hwaga, Guoga of Guo in Guizhou, and Liu in Fujian each have those who are called Demonic Grand Dukes. They are the ones who have the potential to become the successors of Magwang Tianju Yan Zhonghyeok, and Magwang Tianju sent his ultimate demon masters to protect them early on. It is said that he sent two to Shaanxi, and one each to Guizhou and Fujian, perhaps because he was conscious of Huashan and Jongnan. This is also just what is on the surface, and in reality, we do not know how many ultimate demon masters there are.”
That’s right. Why are they called the axes of the newly reorganized Five Great Families in the Central Plains today? It was because they had the power of Yeon Jung-hyeok, the master of Magwangcheon, who had established magic in the center of the Central Plains and was expanding his power day by day, but they also had acquired military power comparable to that of a large sect.
In particular, Shaanxi painters possessed two masters of the highest level, which was a power that surpassed most of the six schools. Kunlun, Gongdong, and Wudang only produced one master of painting at the time.
That was when.
“… … It’s hard to believe.”
Jawoon, who had been speechless for a while in shock, finally opened his mouth.
“It’s not that I don’t trust the Tang family leader who brought the news, or the Zhuge army. I just want to say that the headquarters couldn’t have collapsed so easily. In the headquarters’ Myeonbyeok-dong, the great monks of the previous generation who had finished washing their hands with gold powder were still alive. Even if the Magwang Heavenly Master was born with the body of heavenly martial arts and had achieved unparalleled achievements, there was no way he could deal with those who had already reached the realm of fire decades ago… … .”
“He already has the experience of killing the Sword King. Ambassador.”
“… … .”
At Dang Ji-hye’s words, Ja-woon fell silent once again. It was because he knew that her words were right. Needless to say, Ma Gwang-cheon-ju Yeon-jung-hyeok was a person who could not be judged by ordinary standards. In particular, the way he moved as if he had no aftereffects even after fighting Nam-gung Se-ga led to one fact. He must have defeated the sword king Nam-gung Jang-cheon, who was called the best swordsman in the world, without any serious injuries.
There aren’t many cases where there is an overwhelming difference in skill between the best masters who handle the qi (罡氣). Most of the time, it flows into a battle of attrition of internal energy, and the one who can maintain the qi longer wins. That’s why most people wouldn’t be able to match the great monks of Myeonbyeok-dong. The amount of internal energy of those who have continued the unwritten mind method for over a hundred years would be difficult to measure.
That was what Jawoon believed too.
First, the Sword King was already skilled enough to use the technique of refining strong energy. He was not the best swordsman in the world. And the Magic Heavenly Lord, who had enough power to overwhelm the Sword King, would also be able to use the technique of refining strong energy. In that case, the amount of internal energy would not be much of a problem. All he had to do was not show his bottom while fighting.
That’s not all. Although it is not well known, there is a high probability that there are more masters of the highest level under the command of Magwangcheonju. If they had joined and advanced to Sungsan, it would have been quite possible for Shaolin to be destroyed.
“I didn’t want to tell you this, but… … .”
Dang Ji-hye trailed off. The letter sent by General Jegal Chang-sin of the Jeongcheonmaeng Army described in great detail what had happened to Hanam after the destruction of Shaolin. He had decided that it was unnecessary to tell Ja-woon about it directly, so he had not mentioned it, but as the situation became more urgent and Ja-woon could not face reality, he thought that he had to prescribe a drastic measure, so he brought it up.
“It is said that the relics of great monks are being sold at very high prices in Hanam these days. It is said that if those who have mastered the art of magic take them, they will be able to escape from the demonic possession that is like a natural punishment for them. It is absurd, but since there are very few people in the world who have mastered the Buddhist arts, it is said that they are sold at high prices because of their rarity.”
“… … .”
“Because of that, those who are blinded by materialism and those who have entered the world of magic and are afraid of being possessed by demons are making a fuss about finding the sarira, causing chaos. Not only have they searched through all the pagodas and halls in the Shaolin Temple in search of the sarira pagoda, but some have even gone so far as to say that they will make the sarira themselves.”
“Wait a minute, what do you mean? Making your own sari… … ?”
Gu Jin questioned Dang Ji Hye’s words. Sarira originally refers to the bead-shaped bone fragments that come out when a monk with great Buddhist powers is cremated. If he makes them himself, could it be that he is studying Buddhist scriptures or martial arts?
“It seems that the Magwangcheon people are collecting and burning the corpses of the monks they killed to obtain the relics. In particular, there is a rumor that burning the corpses of the monks who died near Myeonbyeok-dong will yield a lot of relics.”
“… … .”
Jawoon closed his eyes in silence. The intention behind Danggaju’s words was clear. He was asking them to acknowledge the destruction of Shaolin.
Meanwhile, looking at Jawoon’s face, Dang Ji-hye said.
“I wonder if it would be pleasant for me to deliver such news. First, as you know, Your Majesty, the Battle of Jeongma is not over yet. Rather, it is as good as just beginning. I know you are upset, but I hope you will calm down.”
“… … Why are you talking as if something else big happened besides the destruction of Shaolin?”
Danggaju━ That’s how the public official Hyunso spoke with a stern face.
Dang Ji-hye turned her head and looked at him, nodding heavily.
“Yes. While Ma Gwang-cheon was attacking Shaolin, Shaanxi Hwaga went on a campaign.”