“How did it go!?”

“They say no one saw where he went.”

“Damn it…!”

Wiso kicked the innocent ground and vented his frustration.

It was the First Guest who felt puzzled by his behavior.

‘For the Sect Master to lose control of his emotions and get excited.’

It was a sight he had never seen in all the years he had served the Sect Master.

Finally, unable to bear it, the First Guest approached the fuming Wiso and asked.

“Sect Master.”

“First Guest… right now…”

“What on earth is in that letter that you are acting so hastily? To go and meet the Heretic Path's Alliance Leader alone in the first place… it’s not like you, Sect Master.”

Wiso clasped his head with both hands and took a deep breath.

After calming his emotions to some extent, Wiso had returned to his original self.

After calmly controlling his emotions, Wiso said.

“Nothing is certain yet. However, if what I think has actually happened… the righteous path will be defeated.”

“The righteous path will be defeated…”

The First Guest was not an expert in war, but he could grasp the situation.

Currently, about half of the heretic martial world’s power had disappeared, and the righteous martial world was intact.

The righteous martial world had won a great victory in the second battle, so how could they be defeated?

Moreover, a firm belief could be felt in Wiso’s tone and voice as he said this.

“The only one who can stop the Heretic Path's Alliance Leader now is Jin Sohyun. So we must find him.”

The First Guest crossed his arms and was lost in thought.

He didn’t know much about the man named Jin Sohyun, but for some reason, he felt like he knew where he had gone.

“A mountain. And a peak.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Thinking about Jin Sohyun’s last moments, his two arms were fractured, and his whole body was full of wounds. And yet he disappeared from the doctor’s office. The reason… must be to avoid the pursuit of the Heretic Path's Alliance.”

It was a very reasonable statement.

Jin Sohyun extremely disliked others being harmed because of him.

He must have left the doctor’s office without even finishing his treatment, thinking that innocent doctors might lose their lives due to the Heretic Path's Alliance chasing him.

And this was what Wiso had also thought.

“What do you mean by a mountain and a peak?”

“You also know, Sect Master, that martial artists heal much faster than ordinary people.”

“Of course.”

The internal energy that martial artists accumulate in their dantian was not only needed to release sword ki, create fist winds, and run fast.

The more pure internal energy accumulates, the more a person’s senses develop and the body becomes stronger.

And the recovery of wounds also becomes faster.

“For recovery… to gather the purest energy…”

Now Wiso understood what the First Guest meant.

The places where one could gather the purest energy in the Central Plains were mountains and peaks.

The higher they were, to the point of touching the sky, the purer the energy flowed, and it was not for nothing that sects and Daoist temples built their temples on peaks.

“What a fool! To think I didn’t think of that until now!”

Wiso hurriedly began to search for peaks.

He mobilized all the remaining manpower of the Hao Sect to search for peaks, and in the process, he found a total of five peaks.

There was a high possibility that Jin Sohyun was in one of them.

“There’s really no time left…”

Wiso and the First Guest split into two and ran.

Hoping to meet Jin Sohyun at the end of their steps.

***

“What about the flying swords.”

Jin Sohyun was in a dilemma.

Thanks to recovering his body using the pure energy flowing in the Heavenly Torch Peak, he had thrown off the splints from his fractured two arms.

And all the large and small cuts had healed, leaving only faint scars.

Now, what was left was the flying swords for his flying sword technique.

But Jin Sohyun had lost all his flying swords in the fight with Ma Seongun.

Most of them had been shattered and broken by Ma Seongun’s sword, so even if he returned to Mount Qingcheng, he could not retrieve his flying swords.

“It was a gift from Master Kang… I wonder if I’ll be beaten to death if he finds out.”

He made a silly joke and mended his torn martial arts uniform with the bandages he had tied around his body.

And then, Jin Sohyun, who had finished his preparations, looked down from the peak.

“Who is it?”

Jin Sohyun’s two eyes, which had opened the Heavenly Eye, shone blue.

“Is it here?”

This was the fourth peak.

Wiso’s mouth was so dry from searching every nook and cranny of the peaks to find Jin Sohyun.

“Please… be here…!”

“What?”

“Ugh!”

Wiso was surprised by Jin Sohyun, who had appeared right in front of him, and fell on his back.

“Wh-where did you come from?”

At Wiso’s question, Jin Sohyun pointed to the top of the peak.

“You came down… from up there?”

“Yes.”

“I didn’t see you coming down…”

“I just fell.”

“…”

Wiso gave up on understanding the man named Jin Sohyun.

Looking at Wiso, who had dusted off his bottom and stood up, Jin Sohyun asked with a puzzled face.

“By the way, were you looking for me?”

“Ah, yes! There’s no time, Young Master Jin.”

What Wiso took out from his bosom was a letter.

Jin Sohyun, who had naturally taken it, read the words written in it with his eyes and then tilted his head.

“What is this?”

“A warning.”

“A warning?”

“The wind of the heavens will fell the dragon… Cheonjung is the name of the second largest mining area in the Central Plains. But ordinary people don’t even know of its existence.”

“They don’t even know of its existence?”

“Yes!”

“Why?”

“Because Cheonjung is a mine directly managed by the imperial family. And what is produced in Cheonjung is sulfur.”

“Sulfur!”

The First Guest, who had joined at some point, heard Wiso’s words and shouted in great surprise.

At this, the surprised Jin Sohyun blinked his eyes and looked at Wiso and the First Guest alternately.

“Why is that?”

“Sulfur itself is not a problem, but what is made with it is the problem. Do you happen to know of something called a thunder bomb?”

“Yes.”

He remembered hearing about something called a thunder bomb during the education time at the Blue Dragon Daoist Temple.

A thunder bomb was a fist-sized explosive that was not a great threat to martial artists above the peak level, but it was a forbidden weapon that could inflict enormous damage on martial artists below that level or on ordinary people.

“The ingredient that is absolutely necessary to make a thunder bomb is sulfur. And… thunder bombs were made with a very small amount of sulfur that was traded, avoiding the eyes of the imperial family.”

At this point, Jin Sohyun felt like he knew what Wiso was trying to say.

“Don’t tell me… you’re saying the Heretic Path's Alliance is going to use bombs?”

“Yes. The wind of the heavens will fell the dragon… the dragon has been a divine beast that symbolized the Martial Alliance since ancient times. And the Heretic Path's Alliance Leader told me that I only have two chances left. I think that means two battles.”

“How much time is left?”

“Not much.”

“Damn it!! The location?”

“The front line is moving west from Pyeongmu, so…”

Thump—!!

With a loud noise, Jin Sohyun’s figure disappeared.

Wiso looked at the huge pit that seemed to have been created by Jin Sohyun and let out a ragged breath.

“Please… don’t be late.”

***

Good news came to the righteous martial world, which was preparing for the third battle.

It was that the Huashan Sect, the Zhongnan Sect, the Kongtong Sect, the Kunlun Sect, and the Diancang Sect, which had not yet joined, had all joined.

A total of five of the Nine Great Sects had joined the Martial Alliance.

“Fortunately, we were not late.”

Cheon Yusin greeted the Nine Great Sects and regrouped the battle line.

Now, the power of the righteous path far surpassed that of the heretic path.

“What happened to the Flying Heaven Sword Ghost?”

The martial artists of the Huashan and Zhongnan Sects who had joined the Martial Alliance asked about the well-being of the Flying Heaven Sword Ghost, but the answer that came back was negative.

“We are looking for him, but there is no particular gain.”

“Phew… such a strong person…”

“If he was that strong, the Blood Demon wouldn’t be fine. It seems the Flying Heaven Sword Ghost is not as strong as the rumors say.”

“What do you mean by that?”

The faces of the Zhongnan martial artists who had been helped by the Flying Heaven Sword Ghost became grim.

In contrast, the leaders of some factions belittled the achievements of the Flying Heaven Sword Ghost.

“Are our words wrong? If he was really strong, he should have at least torn off one of the Blood-Sucking Sword Demon’s arms. But that bastard is still fine. Do you know how many of our comrades have died because of him?”

“Why is that!”

The Zhongnan martial artists stopped Hwang Jichun, who was about to ask why that was the Flying Heaven Sword Ghost’s fault.

“Calm down. They are just trying to belittle Young Master Jin anyway.”

“Damn it!”

Hwang Jichun could not understand at all.

They were completely ignoring the achievements and sacrifices that Jin Sohyun had made by cutting himself down, and were rather belittling him and praising themselves.

“We are better off!”

“Yes! Didn’t we destroy about half of the heretic martial world?”

“No matter how outstanding the Flying Heaven Sword Ghost is, he can’t be compared to us who are fighting the Blood Demon directly.”

“Did he even fight in the first place? It seems he ran away with his tail between his legs as soon as he met him.”

“Hahaha! Who says otherwise!”

Due to the consecutive victories, the morale of the righteous path martial artists soared to the sky.

Hwang Jichun, who felt this, felt that the tide of the war was flowing strangely.

‘To call it a war…’

A one-sided massacre.

The heretic martial world he had seen and felt was not a place that would collapse so easily.

“Strange. It’s strange.”

“Are the preparations complete?”

At Cheon Yusin’s question, the leaders nodded their heads and raised their swords high.

“One more time. Our glorious battle will be left in history. We will kill the Blood Demon, Ma Seongun, a rare demon, and kill the Heretic Path's Alliance Leader! It will be remembered as the day that brought peace to the Central Plains martial world, and everyone here will have their names left in history!”

Every time Cheon Yusin’s voice rang out, the righteous path martial artists felt an overwhelming emotion from their chests.

Cheon Yusin stomped his foot.

Thump thump—!!

In response, the martial artists’ hearts pounded.

“Raise your swords, advance, and fight! All of this is for the righteous cause!”

“For the righteous cause!!”

From Cheon Yusin’s side, the flag symbolizing the Martial Alliance soared.

The image of a brave dragon holding a wish-granting jewel.

“Let’s go. For our glorious battle!”

“The dragon is coming.”

Ju Cheon could feel the Martial Alliance and the righteous martial world approaching.

The ground rumbles.

It is the sound of the enemies stomping their feet.

The air is hot.

It is the breath of the enemies.

The dragon is coming.

“In the end, you couldn’t find him, Hao Sect Master… or did the blade of the righteous cause you believed in break?”

Ju Cheon felt a sense of regret.

Jin Sohyun was a protagonist worthy of the stage that had been created over decades.

But had that sword been broken by Ma Seongun?

“Ju Cheon.” 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Now, Ma Seongun did not treat Ju Cheon as the Alliance Leader.

Nor did he treat him as a subordinate.

He just looked at Ju Cheon as if he were looking at a different kind of human.

Hunger could be felt in his eyes.

“This is the last time.”

“Yes. This is the last time. So after this, run wild to your heart’s content.”

Ma Seongun turned around.

He also felt it.

That a banquet for him had been prepared.

Now, what was left was to open his mouth to soothe the hunger that would never be filled.

And behind him, Ju Cheon sat comfortably in a chair and stared at the sky.

It’s coming.

“The dragon is coming.”

(End of Chapter)