Chapter 176: Chapter 176

In the past, if anyone asked where the center of the orthodox faction was, people would have said the Martial Alliance.

However, in a situation where the power of the Nine Great Sects and One Gang was weakening, the Eight Great Families, which were another pillar of the place, withdrew from the Martial Alliance.

The place they created was none other than the Heavenly Sword Association.

For a long time, only the Martial Alliance was called the center of the righteous path, but after the Heavenly Sword Association was established, such talk disappeared.

Now, many martial artists harbored a different question.

Would the Heavenly Sword Association be stronger, or would the Martial Alliance be stronger?

Six out of ten sided with the Heavenly Sword Association.

This was because, although they did not show themselves now, the Namgung Family, which had produced the Sword Emperor, was still alive and well, and if the Murong Family and the Zhuge Family joined soon, their power would clearly become even more formidable.

The leader of such a Heavenly Sword Association was none other than Paeng Do-ung of the Hebei Paeng Family.

The saber techniques of the Hebei Paeng Family, which used a gigantic saber, were truly complex and powerful, making them one of the most prominent martial arts in the Central Plains, and it was also because Paeng Do-ung, the current patriarch of the Hebei Paeng Family, had a fairly high reputation.

One of the Ten Venerables, Paeng Do-ung of the Mighty Saber.

However, those who knew Paeng Do-ung sneered inwardly.

An organization with a short history was bound to have many loopholes.

Paeng Do-ung had to resolve that.

Furthermore, because he left the Martial Alliance to establish the organization and split the righteous Martial World in two, he also had to listen to voices of denunciation from here and there.

Moreover, he had not risen to the position of leader through sheer skill.

In reality, the one who should have become the leader was either the patriarch of the Namgung Family or the patriarch of the Sichuan Tang Family.

Therefore, although Paeng Do-ung becoming the leader was a decision in accordance with the wishes of many, it was also readily yielded by those who wanted to avoid troublesome matters.

Right now, that Paeng Do-ung was wearing a somewhat irritated expression.

“Where on earth is this man hiding?”

He let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose.

The greatest goal of the Heavenly Sword Association.

The person absolutely necessary to place the association on a solid foundation.

That was the brain of the Zhuge Family, Zhuge Un. However, he had disappeared, and there was no sign of him appearing at all.

They had deployed numerous people around the Zhuge Family residence to monitor it, and they had secretly followed anyone who might know his whereabouts, yet they still could not find Zhuge Un.

How many months had it been already?

It was on the level of finding a needle in a desert.

“Haha, since we cannot use the information network of the Beggars Sect, it seems to be even more difficult.”

Tang Jung-ak, the patriarch of the Sichuan Tang Family, spoke as he sipped his tea. Until now, they did not fully realize just how important the information network of the Beggars Sect was.

However, once they could not use them, it was extremely inconvenient.

They were searching not only the information network of each family but also the information of wanderers and merchants, but Zhuge Un’s very existence could not be detected, as if he had vanished into the ground or soared into the sky.

“This is no laughing matter, Patriarch Tang! We must bring him back as soon as possible, must we not?”

“What do you expect me to do when he cannot be found no matter how much we search?”

“…Ugh.”

Paeng Do-ung grimaced.

He was angered by the mocking tone of Tang Jung-ak, the patriarch of the Sichuan Tang Family, but the reason he could not raise his voice was the weight that the name Tang Jung-ak carried.

Although they were both of the Ten Venerables, their standing was different.

Even in his youth, Tang Jung-ak had fought to a draw with Namgung Un, who was called the greatest young expert, and because of that, he still exerted considerable influence among the patriarchs of the Eight Great Families.

Although there were times when he complied because of the position of leader, when Tang Jung-ak came out this strongly, Paeng Do-ung also shrunk back naturally.

“If Zhuge Un comes to the Heavenly Sword Association, that is good… and if not, it cannot be helped.”

“That is right. There is no need to hang our lives on that man, is there?”

“What we need is simply someone who uses their brain, and if we look for such people, there will be quite a few.”

The other patriarchs nodded at Tang Jung-ak’s words.

Of course, Paeng Do-ung also knew that much.

However, the experience and knowledge that Zhuge Un possessed were never to be underestimated.

There was no way these people did not know that, but they were all just walking on eggshells around Tang Jung-ak.

Paeng Do-ung sighed and shook his head.

He could only pray that, whatever happened, they would not lose him to the Martial Alliance.

Of course, he did not know that the Martial Alliance was also having the exact same worry.

* * *

If one goes north from Changsha along the waterway of Dongting Lake, there is Yueyang.

In between, there was a small mountain frequently visited by herb gatherers, and even there, there was one place where people rarely set foot.

This was because there was a cave nearby where a bear lived.

That bear was famous for its ferocity.

Since situations where even hunters tried to eliminate it only to end up with their bodies unrecovered had occurred several times, even the nearby villagers now avoided going near it.

However, strangely, smoke was rising from that place.

Even though it was definitely the cave where the famously ferocious bear lived.

Furthermore, while the ferocious growls of the bear could be heard, the sound of voices talking softly to each other was also not an illusion.

“Sigh…”

The woman let out a long sigh and poked at the fire.

Since it was difficult to light it again once it went out, she was doing her best to keep the fire alive. Even the smell of the meat roasting golden-brown over the fire could not disturb her thoughts.

‘Just how long must we…’

The woman glanced to the side.

She saw a middle-aged man lying down and snoring.

The clothes he wore had turned to rags, and due to the cold weather, he was draped in the skins of hunted beasts here and there.

His beard had not been trimmed for so long that it was shaggy, making him look just like a mountain bandit.

‘I am truly going crazy.’

Looking at that, she held her throbbing head.

However, she was not in a position to say anything about the middle-aged man’s appearance. Her own state was also a mess.

Her fine silk clothes were all worn out and torn, no different from rags.

Her skin was so damaged that dead skin was peeling off, and there were clear traces of chapping and bleeding here and there.

From the woman’s perspective, this life was truly a torment.

She did not even know how many months they had spent like this.

As someone who had always slept in a nice house and a comfortable bed, there was no situation more distressing than this.

Why did it turn out like this?

‘This is all because of that man…’

The woman let out a long sigh.

The face of the man who had made Zhuge Un like this did not leave her mind.

Zhuge Un remained here without moving so that he could establish a connection with that man at any time.

Of course, she knew he had other reasons as well.

It was to prevent the people of the Martial Alliance or the Heavenly Sword Association from finding him, and that was likely the biggest reason for continuing this destitute life.

But…

‘He could just live like that by himself! Why did he have to drag me…’

The woman, or rather Zhuge Yeon, inwardly resented her father for making her suffer. The person those people needed was Zhuge Un, not anyone else.

If so, Zhuge Un could have vanished and lived like this alone.

Then what was the reason for holding onto his innocent daughter and not letting her go?

‘Wouldn’t it be lonely if I were alone? Hahaha!’

That ridiculous reason was still stuck in her mind and would not leave.

On that day, for the first time, she wanted to grab her father by the collar.

She had even almost drawn her sword.

Seriously!

Crack!

She unconsciously snapped the branch she was holding.

Thinking about it seemed to make her anger flare up even more.

Clutching the broken branch tightly, she stared at her sleeping father. Just then, the snoring stopped and a voice drifted out.

“Do not worry. This life will not last that long.”

Zhuge Un, who had been sleeping, sat up.

There was a bit of fear mixed in the gaze with which he looked at his daughter.

This was because he had felt killing intent while sleeping.

And a sharp, piercing killing intent at that.

Zhuge Un’s gaze glanced at the broken branch.

“Do you know how many times I have heard those words already?”

“Someone will visit soon. Truly.”

“Who is that, who on earth is it!”

“Ahem…!”

Zhuge Un turned his head with a hazy gaze.

In the appearance of the man named Dan Woo-hyun, he had seen the Sword Emperor.

Of course, just because he felt the shadow of the deceased Sword Emperor did not mean he thought the man was the Emperor himself.

However, he wanted to watch him from his side.

Therefore, the choice he made was to stay nearby and appear to offer help at the necessary moments, intending to show his abilities to him.

However, many things had happened over the past few months.

Yet, even when he tried to help, the man resolved everything swiftly on his own.

There was no time to use his brain.

He had heard that people wearing strange masks had appeared and resolved the issues.

Although it was fragmentary information, that alone was enough to know that there were extraordinary people by Dan Woo-hyun’s side.

‘One of them must be that member of the Demonic Cult I saw last time.’

Just thinking about him brought out a cold sweat.

The fact that there was one more such person was chillingly terrifying.

That was why he wanted to be with the man named Dan Woo-hyun even more.

‘Perhaps if it is that man…’

He had even imagined that when they found the one who killed the Sword Emperor, that man might be able to exact revenge for them.

That was why Zhuge Un could not stop observing Dan Woo-hyun from here.

However, Zhuge Yeon, on the contrary, glared with anger.

“Even so, we cannot stay here forever, can we? What about the family affairs? Are you planning to dump all of it on someone else?”

“That is…”

“Now that the Sword Emperor is gone, have you become obsessed with that man Dan Woo-hyun? It is truly creepy…”

Zhuge Yeon rubbed her arms as if she was genuinely creeped out.

She remembered when her father first saw the Sword Emperor.

He had followed that man around for several years, even chasing him to the outhouse, to the point where the Sword Emperor had expressed his embarrassment.

There was no memory in Zhuge Yeon’s life as embarrassing as that.

Though he was her father, he was sometimes terrifying.

There were times when she worried if that personality would one day be directed at her.

She truly wished someone would fix that personality of his.

The moment she let out a long sigh.

Footsteps were heard from not far away.

The heads of the two turned toward the sound. Unless there was an intention or certainty, there was no way a person would come to a place like this.

Furthermore, the footsteps heard were not just from one person.

There were three or four, perhaps even more than that.

Zhuge Un stared at them with a hardened expression.

The moment the figures of those slowly approaching became distinct.

Schiiiing!

The sound of swords being drawn was heard.

“Zhuge Un… it is truly regrettable to meet you in this manner.”

At the bluntly spat words, Zhuge Un smiled awkwardly and picked up his sword placed to one side.

The opponent’s aura was clear killing intent.

He could not just die meekly.

“Today, this place is your grave.”

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