Chapter 317: Chapter 317

< Chronicles of the Martial God Return – Chapter 317 >

The Martial Alliance was the center of the orthodox faction.

It was an organization where clans and families with long traditions, prestige, and history gathered to lead the orthodox path, and it was a place that had ruled over the orthodox martial artists and wielded immense power for a very long time without suffering even a single invasion.

That very place was the Orthodox Martial Alliance.

The sight of the burning Orthodox Martial Alliance made those who saw it truly unable to contain their astonishment.

Many people whispered and pointed.

Even Shaolin, which could be called the head of the Nine Great Sects and One Gang as well as the Martial Alliance, was not safe, making people wonder if the very roots of the Orthodox Martial Alliance had been uprooted.

Many people died.

It would be impossible to even count how many had died.

Inside the blazing Martial Alliance, a disgusting, pungent smell that stung the nose wafted out.

This was, without a doubt, the smell of burning corpses.

People could not bring themselves to approach the place and hesitated.

“What… what happened to the Martial Alliance Leader?”

“Well, seeing that state, probably…”

He must have died.

Although it was unknown who carried out the attack, if they were masters capable of destroying Shaolin and the Martial Alliance in an instant, they would not have left the Martial Alliance Leader and the heads of the Nine Great Sects and One Gang, who were the core figures of the Martial Alliance, alone.

Moreover, if they were alive, the Martial Alliance would not have ended up in such a state, so the situation unfolding before their eyes was by no means good.

Everyone had to swallow their saliva and watch the sight.

It was a historic moment signaling that time had flowed and the era had changed.

* * *

“The ones who attacked the Martial Alliance were unorthodox martial artists. They are currently calling themselves the Blood Heaven, and they are gradually expanding their influence downward starting from the Martial Sovereign Castle.”

Namgung Cheon stared blankly at Gu Mu-ak’s explanation.

Although he did not know where the Blood Heaven had come from or what they did, if they were capable of devouring the Martial Alliance ruled by Seon-jin, they were definitely a force that could not be ignored.

They even destroyed Shaolin?

This was not something an ordinary organization could accomplish.

“How many died?”

Namgung Cheon tightly gripped the pillar of the veranda.

Crack!

The pillar broke, but no one paid any attention to it.

“From what has been confirmed… they say everyone was massacred.”

“Ah…”

Namgung Cheon collapsed right where he stood.

A massacre meant that not a single person had survived. That was equivalent to saying that most of those who had shared an era with Namgung Cheon, including Seon-jin, had failed to escape death.

Namgung Cheon frowned.

Did this situation even make sense?

How could the Orthodox Martial Alliance crumble so easily?

The more he thought about it, the more absurd it felt.

“And… what happened?”

Namgung Cheon’s gloomy voice was heard.

Gu Mu-ak could not bring himself to speak the next words. While it might be different for others, he knew it would be a massive shock from Namgung Cheon’s perspective.

However, as Sa Do-hak, Jeok Mu-seong, and even Dan Woo-hyun gave him meaningful looks, he had no choice but to answer.

“Cur… currently, they have taken control of Hubei and have begun building new pavilions there. The flag of the Blood Heaven has been hoisted, and they have reportedly proclaimed it as the land of the Blood Heaven.”

“Who on earth are those bastards!”

Bang!

A fierce aura erupted from Namgung Cheon and swept outward. Since no ordinary person could withstand that momentum, not only Gu Mu-ak who was right in front of him, but also Gwon Mu-jin and Namgung So-hye who were quietly listening, were blown away helplessly.

That was how violently Namgung Cheon’s power surged.

Sa Do-hak lightly dispersed the aura to block it, then looked at Gu Mu-ak with an intrigued gaze and spoke.

“It is the world-renowned Martial Alliance. If they were capable of destroying it, they must be strong, right?”

“We do not know the exact details, but… only a small number of people attacked the Martial Alliance. We estimate that the martial arts of each individual among them are comparable to the Seven Stars or the Five Emperors.”

Gu Mu-ak had also failed to gather precise information regarding that part, but judging by the circumstances of the Martial Alliance’s fall and the prior annihilation of its branches, he could make such an assumption.

Gu Mu-ak stole a glance at Dan Woo-hyun’s expression.

He had thought he brought solid information, but for some reason, the Manor Lord’s expression was not good.

“That is something even the dogs living nearby would know.”

“Ugh…!”

Gu Mu-ak gasped at the single sentence from Dan Woo-hyun’s mouth.

A dog?

Of course, it was merely an assumption based on the situation rather than precise facts, but it was still information brought faster than from any other source.

In this current situation, this was the absolute limit of what could be gathered.

Gu Mu-ak’s face flared with annoyance.

At that moment, Dan Woo-hyun looked at him and smirked mockingly. Then, his gaze shifted toward Zhuge Un.

“What do you think?”

“It is already within the range of what I predicted.”

Zhuge Un looked at Gu Mu-ak with a triumphant expression.

Zhuge Un, who had held the Hao Clan in relatively high regard, seemed to think that their information was not always so extraordinary.

“You are useless.”

Thud!

Gu Mu-ak gasped at the single remark Dan Woo-hyun spat out.

To him, being abandoned felt synonymous with death. Since the Hunan Dan Family knew all of Gu Mu-ak’s information, he could not help but fear them more than any other group.

“At, at present, with the information we have… it is simply…”

Yet Gu Mu-ak also had something to say in his defense.

He had no way of knowing where the group called the Blood Heaven had appeared from, or what their goal was. It was as if the flow of information was completely blocked at the source, so Gu Mu-ak could not help but feel it was unfair.

At that moment, Dan Woo-hyun chuckled.

‘What now?’

Gu Mu-ak felt a chill run down his spine upon seeing that smile.

This was because he wondered if the other party knew something he did not. He reminded himself several times that it was impossible, but he could not help the anxiety rising within him every time he saw Dan Woo-hyun’s smile.

‘Could it be… does he really know something?’

Buying and selling information was Gu Mu-ak’s trade.

If such a man possessed poorer information than a member of a single family, it meant he was already useless in his field.

At the very moment his anxiety reached its peak.

Dan Woo-hyun spoke.

“Sam-tae.”

“Yes?”

Although it was uttered softly, Jang Sam-tae heard Dan Woo-hyun’s voice clearly. The tightly shut window slid open slightly, and Jang Sam-tae poked his head out. He looked at Dan Woo-hyun with a somewhat puzzled expression.

“Do you know about the Blood Heaven?”

“What kind of trash are they?”

Jang Sam-tae tilted his head.

It was because he was hearing the name Blood Heaven for the first time.

Gu Mu-ak nodded, thinking, ‘Of course.’ Since the Manor Lord had spoken so confidently, he had worried that the man possessed information even he did not know, but it seemed that was not the case.

Gu Mu-ak let out a sigh of relief and grinned.

But then, Dan Woo-hyun spoke.

“They are the guys who fled from Mount Changbai last time. Tell us what you know.”

“The ones who fled… do you mean the bastards that the Manor Lord beat to death at Mount Changbai?”

“…Yes.”

Dan Woo-hyun frowned, perhaps finding the expression “beat to death” somewhat unpleasant. However, since no other expression came to mind, he let out a soft sigh and urged Jang Sam-tae on.

“Do I really have to say it?”

“Yes.”

Jang Sam-tae grimaced.

Frankly, it was an event he never wanted to recall again. However, realizing something from the glance Dan Woo-hyun cast at him, he soon nodded. It looked as if the two of them were plotting something together.

Soon, Jang Sam-tae’s eyes sparkled.

“Ahem… well, you see. For a very long time, there was a certain organization in Mount Changbai.”

Jang Sam-tae looked around the room with eyes that said, ‘You all better listen carefully!’ Sa Do-hak and Namgung Cheon, who had already heard the story, also focused on Jang Sam-tae’s words.

“Its name is the Blood Demon Cult!”

The moment the name Blood Demon Cult was spoken, everyone’s eyes went wide.

Wasn’t that the organization that had united the Central Plains a thousand years ago, during the era when the Martial God was alive?

Although it had suffered an absurd downfall at the hands of the Martial God, it was an organization that would not be out of place if called legendary alongside the Martial God.

Shiver.

Gu Mu-ak trembled.

‘The Blood Demon Cult? That organization was still hiding in the Central Plains all this time?’

It was a fact that even Gu Mu-ak, who had collected information for ages, did not know. He wondered for a moment if Jang Sam-tae was lying, but no matter how he looked at it, there was not a trace of falsehood on the servant’s face.

“Those bastards were acting so cocky in front of our Manor Lord… that our Manor Lord got angry.”

“Hohoho, so what happened?”

“Well, isn’t it obvious? The Manor Lord chased them all the way to Mount Changbai and beat them like dogs. I truly realized that the term ‘mountain of corpses’ could exist in reality.”

Jang Sam-tae shuddered as he recalled that time.

A mountain of corpses?

It was more than that.

If anyone other than Dan Woo-hyun had tried to create such a sight, it was a scene that could only be produced by a full-scale war.

“In the midst of that, quite a few of them managed to flee. I believe the group they formed by gathering together is none other than the Blood Heaven.”

“Ah…!”

“Ugh!”

The one most shocked by Jang Sam-tae’s words was Jeok Mu-seong.

If that were true, did it not mean that the ones who attacked the Martial Sovereign Castle were none other than the remnants of the Blood Demon Cult, and that the root cause of it all was Dan Woo-hyun?

He stared with an dumbfounded expression, but Dan Woo-hyun turned his head away as if it had nothing to do with him.

“Sigh… if that is the case, I cannot help but wonder who their leader is.”

Zhuge Un sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

To think that the origin of the worst crisis in history was actually Dan Woo-hyun.

He had suspected it to some extent, but hearing it directly gave him a headache.

“Well, I do not know.”

Dan Woo-hyun shook his head confidently.

He did not even care to know who the leader was. Most of those capable of leading the Blood Demon Cult had been killed. Especially since he had killed not only the elders and guardians, but even the Blood Demon himself, he naturally paid no attention to the rest.

Dan Woo-hyun dismissed the entire situation as if it were nothing and looked back at Gu Mu-ak.

Gu Mu-ak stood with his mouth agape, looking thoroughly shocked.

Since Dan Woo-hyun was the origin of this incident, he was able to surmise and confirm all of this information.

“Do you understand now?”

“Y-yes… of course.”

Gu Mu-ak trembled all over.

The information coming out of Dan Woo-hyun’s mouth right now was of priceless value. Even if one searched the entire Central Plains, they would never be able to discover such complete information.

The moment Gu Mu-ak swallowed his dry saliva.

Dan Woo-hyun smirked and held out his hand.

“Then you should pay the information fee, right?”

“Yes?”

Gu Mu-ak flinched at the unexpected words. He looked at Dan Woo-hyun in confusion, wondering if he had misheard. But the moment he saw the Manor Lord’s expression, he knew he had not misheard.

“You are one who buys and sells information. I buy information from you, so shouldn’t you also buy information from me?”

Seeing Dan Woo-hyun’s grinning face, Gu Mu-ak broke into an unprecedented cold sweat and lowered his head.

He instinctively felt that it would not be just a few pennies.

Was this the reason Jang Sam-tae and Dan Woo-hyun had locked eyes earlier?

He felt as if he had walked right into a trap.

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