“The places marked in red are where Lord Namgoong completed his investigation.”

Seven red marks.

They were the number of engagements Namgoong Cheongun had fought while Seolhwa was undergoing Sama Cheon’s test inside the Demonic Cult.

“And last evening we received word that he was heading toward Yuhua Mountain. He should have arrived by now.”

Seolhwa frowned.

‘Yuhua Mountain...’

She remembered it well.

Chongqing, where Yuhua Mountain was located, sat at the center of five major cities—surrounded by countless factions.

But because there were too many forces watching one another, no single faction truly controlled it.

A paradoxical city.

The very eye of the storm.

‘Which makes it the perfect place for the Blood Cult to hide.’

In her last life too, Yuhua Mountain had been one of the Blood Cult’s major strongholds.

Its position—connecting Sichuan, Shaanxi, Hubei, Hunan, and Guizhou—made it ideal for monitoring central China’s movements.

And on Yuhua Mountain...

“Have you learned how much Explosives were stolen from the Imperial Court?”

The Hao Sect Lord searched through a tall stack of papers and handed Seolhwa a compiled report on the Explosives.

It listed who had been tasked with transport, where the seizure occurred, and even the list of people who knew in advance about the shipment.

She had been briefed on all of it; she flipped through the sheets lightly.

Then, when she reached the section with the total amount stolen—

Her expression slowly hardened.

****

Over the past fifteen days, Cheongun had led Namgoong Clan, the Martial Alliance, and five members of the Eastern Depot to raid seven Blood Cult bases.

Across those seven engagements, none of the enemies had been particularly taxing.

Their teamwork, shaky at first, had steadily meshed.

— I’ll take the lead with the Black Dragon Unit. The Vermilion Bird Division secures the rear. Eastern Depot will support.

Cheongun issued his orders.

Yu Pyo, the Vermilion Bird Division Lord, and the eunuch leading the Eastern Depot men signaled that they understood.

With Black Dragon Unit Lord Namgoong Hyeok, Cheongun descended toward the bandit stronghold.

After positioning their men along the approach, he nodded at the foremost Black Dragon trooper—his cue.

He was the unit’s best throwing-blade specialist.

SWISH— FWIP— THUD— THUMP!

“Guh—!”

“Kh...”

Two guards at the stronghold entrance fell instantly to the thrown blades.

Aiming for the nape ensured they couldn’t even scream; the remaining guards still hadn’t sensed intruders.

Cheongun signaled again.

The trooper drew three more blades.

Then—

SWISH— WHIP— FWEEEIP—!

THUD! THUMP!

“Gah!”

“Graaah!”

The two guards at the watchpost tumbled out together with dying screams.

Maybe because they screamed—

At the exact moment they hit the ground, the two men who looked like leaders turned sharply.

BOOM— CLANG!

“Who goes there!!”

“E-enemies!!”

The stronghold exploded into chaos.

Cheongun clicked his tongue.

The last blade had been aimed at one of the leaders—but the other had deflected it with his weapon.

‘So they’re not ordinary.’

To read the situation in that instant and knock a blade out of the air—

‘I can’t afford to be careless.’

Tch—

“Attack!!”

At his gesture, the Black Dragon troopers charged.

From behind the rocky ridge at the rear, Yu Pyo and the Vermilion Bird Division burst forth.

“Capture them all!”

— Black Dragon Unit Lord. We two will take the pair. Handle the rest.

— Yes, Lord.

Under Cheongun’s command, the Black Dragon Unit surged toward the Blood Cult warriors.

CLANG! CLANG-CLANG! CLANG!

“Kill them!!”

“Don’t let a single one escape!”

A fierce melee broke out instantly.

Drawing his sword, Cheongun rushed at the two leaders.

Behind them, Yu Pyo was also closing in.

TADADA— TAP— WHOOSH—

Cheongun kicked off the ground and leapt.

‘Namgoong Clan exclusive art — Blue Firmament Flying Swallow Sword.’

Second Form — Soaring Sky!

SWOOOOSH—

His qi-wreathed blade tore downward like a falling arc of sky.

“Move!”

The one who had deflected the blade earlier crossed his twin wolf-fang maces to block.

Wolf-fang maces—heavy heads studded with iron spikes.

KA-CLAAAANG!

He caught Cheongun’s sword and swept outward, knocking the strike aside—choosing not to take the full sword-qi head-on.

SWISH— TAP—!

Landing lightly, Cheongun rushed him again.

BOOM! KRAANG! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Sword and twin maces clashed violently.

The destruction from mace-swings infused with qi was overwhelming—far beyond what ordinary weapons could produce.

THUD— WHAM!

The twin maces smashed the ground where Cheongun had been a heartbeat before.

Dirt exploded outward, splattering his blue coat.

‘Such power.’

He glanced at the crater.

The earth around the impact point was cracked.

Even with qi reinforcement, such brute force was unnatural.

‘...Blood Arts?’

He remembered what Seolhwa had told him.

Blood Cult warriors used blood-qi and Blood Arts—powerful but eating away the user’s life.

‘That dark red aura.’

The instinctive revulsion in his body confirmed it.

‘Avoid direct clashes.’

Cheongun drew up more internal power.

Since it was certain they were Blood Cult members, he had to finish them before they used “that thing” Seolhwa warned him about— 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

SHRRRANG—!

“!”

While Cheongun fought the mace-wielder, Yu Pyo flinched at a razor-shrieking metallic sound.

‘A thin saber.’

A blade so thin its body vibrated—letting out a piercing metallic hum.

Its trembling edge made its movements hard to predict.

A rare, annoying, extremely difficult weapon to wield properly.

Which meant—

‘Hardly anyone can truly master it.’

WHOOSH—

Yu Pyo’s ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) sword drew an elegant arc toward the enemy.

The man thrust his thin saber without retreating.

SHRRRANG— SHRRANG!

The vibrating blade emitted an unpleasant metallic rasp.

Its silhouette split into dozens before Yu Pyo’s eyes like illusions.

“—!”

But Huashan’s swordsmanship was never outshone by mere trickery.

‘Twenty-Four-Hand Plum Blossom Sword Art. Fourteenth Hand — Plum Blossoms in Full Bloom.’

A storm of purple plum petals burst forth.

SHRRRANG—!!

The thin-saber wielder’s eyes widened in shock.

His dozens of illusory blades desperately slashed through hundreds of falling petals.

Illusory blade versus illusory sword.

A response worthy of Yu Pyo, Huashan’s pride.

CLANG! CLANG—!

“Kraaaah!”

“R-Run...!”

With Namgoong Cheongun and Yu Pyo taking the lead, the tide turned instantly in favor of the Martial Alliance coalition.

Namgoong Hyeok’s Black Dragon Unit had already subdued all but the two leaders.

They were moments from an easy victory.

Cheongun pressed the mace-wielder, preparing a decisive strike—

PING— PING-PING—

“!”

A foreign sound grazed Cheongun’s ear.

“Yu Pyo!”

Yu Pyo, focused in the duel, still caught the sound and ducked instantly.

At the same moment—

“Guh—!”

“Khuk!”

Behind them, a Blood Cult warrior and a Vermilion Bird trooper collapsed with short groans.

Cheongun spun around.

Thin needles were embedded in their temples.

No—something even thinner than needles.

“Hidden weapons...!”

Cheongun snapped toward their source.

The cave entrance.

Something glinted in the darkness—

No, right before his eyes—

CLANG!

“Everyone! Hidden weapons—watch out!!”

Parrying another projectile, Cheongun shouted:

“They’re coming from the cave! Toward the—”

KRAAANG—!

The twin maces barreled in again.

“Kh...!”

Distracted by the hidden weapons, Cheongun met the blow nearly head-on, catching it with the edge and guard of his sword.

GRKKK...

He twisted to redirect the force—

THOOM—!

A massive weight crashed down on him.