* * *
Guizhou, bordering Sichuan, was like a homeland to the members of the Unorthodox Faction.
Samu-cheon, based in Guiyang, the provincial capital of Guizhou, was the spiritual pillar and symbol for all unorthodox practitioners, and the thirty families that comprised it were spread throughout the region.
A land where not a single Righteous Faction had managed to establish itself.
That was Guizhou.
The Moon-Slaying Sword Sect, located in Bijie near the Sichuan border, was bustling with an unusual sense of urgency.
The sight of all its warriors moving about busily was enough to tell that something was afoot.
“Sect Leader!”
“What happened?”
“The Red Sword Sect says they cannot help…”
At his subordinate’s words, Ma So-chu, the leader of the Moon-Slaying Sword Sect, stomped his foot in frustration.
-Thump!
“Damn it! After all the help I’ve given them, they turn their backs on me when I’m in trouble?!”
“Sect Leader!”
Just then, another subordinate rushed in and spoke.
“What is it?!”
“Sir, it’s true that a strike force is being formed. It seems the Righteous Faction bastards are truly planning to head to Guizhou.”
“Those crazy bastards… Are they not afraid of a war between the Righteous and the Unorthodox?”
“Not only that, but there are rumors that the Poison Emperor might join the strike force…”
“What?!!!”
At the mention of the Poison Emperor, Sect Leader Ma So-chu felt his legs go weak.
“Wh-wh-why the Poison Emperor?!”
“It seems… because of the incident in Sichuan… he feels his territory has been invaded…”
“…”
The sudden worsening of the situation made Ma So-chu’s head throb.
The Heavenly Lord of Samu-cheon had given him useless advice to go into hiding, and all thirty families of Samu-cheon were turning their backs on him without exception.
And to make matters worse, the Poison Emperor was on the move.
The Poison Emperor was not an opponent he could handle.
“Sect Leader… no, brother. It is time for you to make a decision.”
At the words of Ma Hoe-mun, the Flying Slayer Sword and one of the only three remaining elders of the sect, the Sect Leader walked weakly to the main hall’s wooden floor and sat down.
He buried his face in his hands and spoke in a feeble voice.
“How much of our assets can be liquidated immediately?”
“Not much. Most of our wealth is invested in the brothels in Sichuan and Zhejiang. At best, we only have our businesses in Bijie. And there’s no guarantee a buyer will appear right away.”
“Damn it… Liquidate everything you can. As quickly as possible. Distribute as much as you can to the sect’s warriors, maintain only a minimal contact network, and for the time being… we… will… disband.”
“…”
The elders present in the hall remained silent.
It had been twenty years since Ma So-chu founded the Moon-Slaying Sword Sect in Bijie.
In that short time, he had grown a small sect into the 13th-ranked family of Samu-cheon.
A great power that no one dared to underestimate, boasting three of Samu-cheon’s most renowned masters.
To disband such a sect, even temporarily, was by no means an easy decision.
He had tried to overcome the crisis by seeking help from the families of Samu-cheon to fight off the strike force coming for him.
If he could have done that, the prestige of the Moon-Slaying Sword Sect would have risen even higher than before.
But perhaps due to the Heavenly Lord’s influence, not a single one offered him a helping hand.
“Brother. We can start over. Aren’t we in a better position than when we first started?”
At the words of his cousin and fellow elder, Ma Hoe-mun, who had built and raised the Moon-Slaying Sword Sect with him, Sect Leader Ma So-chu managed a weak smile.
“I’m too old for that. You know the way of the Unorthodox Faction. If we go into hiding, Samu-cheon will surely fill the vacancy in the thirty families immediately. To fight our way back in later, shedding blood… I have too much to lose.”
“Brother…”
How could he not know? It was a position he had reached by starting with nothing, overcoming countless life-threatening crises.
How many families had been erased from Samu-cheon while they climbed to become the thirteenth family?
He knew better than anyone how difficult it was for a sect, once in decline, to rise again, and how harsh the winds of the martial world could be.
“Hoe-mun… Let’s wrap things up. As you said, there might be a chance in a few years when things quiet down. Keep the communication network with the warriors well-established… Let’s find a mountain somewhere and focus on our training for a while.”
“Yes…”
Just as the leader of the Moon-Slaying Sword Sect made his decision, Mujin, riding a black horse, was entering Bijie.
Having subsisted on simple rice balls bought on the road and riding day and night, Mujin, covered in dust, was a mess.
Upon entering Bijie, Mujin stopped his horse and approached a nearby inn.
“Welco… Excuse me, but our inn is…”
The attendant, seeing the dust-covered Mujin, was about to refuse him entry but trailed off when Mujin’s indifferent gaze met his.
Moreover, when he saw the hilt of the sword slung across Mujin’s back, he began to step back timidly.
Mujin took out a gold piece from his sleeve and tossed it to the attendant.
The attendant, who caught the gold piece in a daze, stared at Mujin with a blank expression.
“A day at most. I need you to look after this horse.”
A gold piece for taking care of a horse for just one day was the kind of jackpot an attendant might hit once in his life.
“O-of course! I’ll take good care of it with the best feed! Our inn’s stable is…”
“More importantly, where is the Moon-Slaying Sword Sect?”
At Mujin’s question, the attendant pointed in one direction.
“If you follow that main road straight, you’ll see a place with a large sign that says Moon-Slaying Sword Sect.”
“Alright. Take care of the horse until I return.”
With those words, the attendant watched Mujin’s back as he disappeared in a cloud of dust.
* * *
A strange tension filled the air by the Hong River in Honam, where martial artists had gathered.
There were warriors in black uniforms with the character for ‘Repayment’ embroidered in large red letters on their backs, and Daoists in robes with plum blossoms stitched on their sleeves.
Not only that, but there were also monks with shaved heads in yellow uniforms and kasayas, and Daoists carrying swords with the Taiji symbol engraved on them.
With martial artists from the Eight Factions and the Five Great Families all gathered in one place, an oppressive atmosphere naturally spread.
“Make way!”
A voice came from behind the crowd watching the gathered martial artists from a distance.
When people turned around, they saw a swarm of beggars carrying bamboo sticks.
“It’s the Beggars’ Sect!”
At someone’s cry, the crowd parted, creating a path.
As the beggars from the Beggars’ Sect passed through, a foul stench assaulted people’s noses.
“Ugh!”
“The smell…”
“Shh! Watch your mouth. Do you think they’re just ordinary beggars?”
“…”
Passing through the crowd of people turning their heads away, the beggars joined the large gathering of martial artists.
“Is everyone here now?”
At the words of an old man with a wrinkled face and shabby robes, the leaders of each faction stepped forward and nodded.
“Then let’s go.”
With those words, the old man began to walk at the very front.
Behind him, a group of just under 400 martial artists followed in a massive procession.
Warriors dispatched from the Eight Factions, the Five Great Families, and the Beggars’ Sect—twenty from each—all gathered together and followed the Poison Emperor towards Guizhou.
* * *
Mujin looked up at the sign hanging above a gate twice the size of the Yeomhwa Family’s and spoke.
“Moon-Slaying.”
“Who are you?”
“What’s a beggar-like bastard like you looking at?”
The six warriors guarding the massive gate scowled, each muttering a remark.
The sect was already in disarray, and with rumors that an order to disband might be coming, the warriors’ minds were in a complicated state.
In such a situation, some strange, dust-covered man was staring up at their sect’s sign and spouting nonsense, so it was only natural that their words were not kind.
“As expected of scoundrels, your words are just as vulgar.”
At Mujin’s words, the six warriors drew their swords and charged at him.
Or rather, they tried to.
-Shwaaaak!
-Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud.
In the instant they thought a powerful gust of wind had swept past them, before their swords were even halfway drawn, the last warrior froze, his pupils trembling violently at the surreal sight of his five comrades’ heads falling to the ground.
“Wh-who…”
“Is So-chu inside?”
“Wh-wh-what…”
“The leader of the Moon-Slaying Sword Sect. Is he inside?”
As Mujin ascended the stairs and asked, the warrior, his voice caught in his throat, could only nod his head vigorously instead of speaking.
“Good.”
-Slice.
Only after hearing the chilling sound did the warrior realize he had been cut. He slowly brought a hand to his neck.
But his vision mercilessly spun and tumbled to the ground.
-Thump.
Without a single glance at the collapsing, headless corpse, Mujin extended a fist toward the firmly shut main gate of the Moon-Slaying Sword Sect.
-Craaaash!
With a loud roar, the main gate of the Moon-Slaying Sword Sect shattered into pieces.
The people moving busily inside froze, their eyes fixed on the destroyed main gate.
Mujin stepped inside, and though he was the center of everyone’s attention, he calmly raised his sword.
“Ma So-chu!!!! Come out!!!!”
The shout echoed not only throughout the Moon-Slaying Sword Sect but also in the surrounding area, causing the warriors closest to Mujin to cover their ears and grimace.
“Who the hell is that bastard?!”
“Kill him!!”
“How dare you speak the Sect Leader’s name so disrespectfully…”
-Slice!
The heads of the three warriors who charged at him fell, and Mujin began to walk slowly inward.
“Kill him!!”
“What are you doing?!!”
“Charge!!!”
In an instant, about 50 warriors drew their swords and rushed forward.
Even seeing them, Mujin’s expression did not change.
“Nine Swords of Dugu, Fifth Form. Army-Slaying Form.”
No matter how many enemies swarmed him, they would kneel before this sword.
Having consumed the Three Yin Five Yang Pill, which was filled with the pure essence of Daoism, and having accumulated 70 years’ worth of internal energy in his dantian, Mujin’s sword began to move at a completely different speed than before.
!!!
The warriors couldn’t even properly see the movement of his iron sword, the only fast sword form of the Nine Swords of Dugu.
The moment they perceived something gray moving, the warriors were split in half along with their swords.
The enemy’s sword technique, which looked like the cracking of a whip, instantly filled the warriors’ eyes with terror.
“We have to report this! Quickly, to the elders…”
-Thud.
The head of a warrior who had just turned to run back fell to the ground.
Mujin, who had cut down the warriors with unstoppable momentum, was now drenched in blood.
A few warriors had managed to flee deeper inside early on, but all those who had charged at Mujin met a gruesome end.
-Thud. Thud. Thud.
Mujin had no intention of waiting for his opponent to appear, so he began to walk further into the compound.
-Crash!
“Aaargh!”
“Gack!”
“Kyaaaaaaaak!”
Mujin entered whatever room he came across, cutting down every martial artist he saw.
And his sword did not discriminate based on age.
Even if they were young warriors who had not yet reached adulthood, if they knew martial arts, he cut them all down.
In an instant, the Moon-Slaying Sword Sect was engulfed in a chaos of screams and death rattles.
-Fwoosh!
After drenching a room where someone had been organizing documents in blood, Mujin tossed a flint over a broken lantern, setting it ablaze.
“There he is!”
“That’s him!”
The warriors of the Moon-Slaying Sword Sect’s elite True Moon Sword Unit, drawn by the screams, formed a battle formation and charged towards Mujin.
But Mujin simply swung his sword downward, shattering their formation with a single strike.
Using the Third Form, Void-Breaking Form, and the Fifth Form, Army-Slaying Form of the Nine Swords of Dugu, Mujin began to cut through the elite True Moon Sword Unit, his body becoming completely stained with the blood of his enemies.
-Sliiiice!
From warriors whose arms were severed along with their swords, screaming in agony, to those cut in half, writhing on the ground, the scene was dominated by screams and red blood. The unarmed workers of the Moon-Slaying Sword Sect trembled as they watched.
Their legs gave out, and they couldn’t even think of running, only able to watch the hellish scene with their entire bodies shaking.
“Stop!!!”
-Shwiiik!
-Clang!
Deflecting a flying dagger that came with the shout, Mujin thrust his sword into the chest of the last surviving warrior and shifted his gaze.
-Stab.
Seeing a master with a considerably sharp aura, Mujin spoke with indifferent eyes.
“Are you Ma So-chu?”
The answer came from another direction.
“I am Ma So-chu, the leader of the Moon-Slaying Sword Sect!”
A man descended into the courtyard with two other masters.
Mujin shifted his gaze to him and nodded.
“The remaining three must be the elders, then?”
“…”
No one answered Mujin’s question.
“Who are you?”
At Sect Leader Ma So-chu’s question, Mujin wiped his blood-stained hand through his hair and replied.
“The Family Head of the Yeomhwa Family. Hwa Mujin.”
!!!
Hwa Mujin, the Hidden Dragon of Sichuan.
That one name explained everything.
“Did you come alone?”
Sect Leader Ma So-chu asked, looking at the 150 or so warriors who had rushed out and were now surrounding Mujin.
“I alone am more than enough to deal with the likes of you.”
“Grit! Your arrogance is excessive!”
-Chiiing!
Seeing Ma So-chu draw his sword as he spoke, Mujin smiled.
As the corners of his mouth lifted, an intense killing intent and spirit, different from before, began to radiate from his body.
“Looks like we’re done talking.”
With those words, Mujin charged towards Ma So-chu.
To stop him, the 150 warriors rushed towards Mujin.
