Episode 476

The Sky Falls(1)

The first battle of Dongting lasted for three days and nights.

 

The Celestial Demon Troupe attacked, while the Jade Heaven Alliance defended behind their massive walls.

 

Over the course of three days, countless people were killed or wounded, and Dongting lake turned red with blood.

 

The civilian houses caught up in their battle were destroyed or burned down, and Akyang, which had once flourished, fell into ruin.

 

Countless people lost their lives in the war between the two forces.

 

The streets of Yueyang were filled with the moans and cries of the people, and children who had lost their parents wandered around in a pitiful state.

 

Initially, people had predicted a slight advantage for the Jade Heaven Alliance.

 

No matter how desperate the situation, Yueyang was the Jade Heaven Alliance’s stronghold. In terms of terrain, manpower, and supplies, the Jade Heaven Alliance held the upper hand.

 

While it was difficult to turn the tide immediately, many thought that in a prolonged stalemate, Jade Heaven Alliance would prevail due to superior supplies.

 

On the other hand, Celestial Demon Troupe was on an expedition far from home, essentially isolated in the heart of Jianghu.

 

Even if they had stockpiled supplies, transporting them to the battlefield was another challenge entirely.

 

Yet strangely, Celestial Demon Troupe’s supply lines never faltered.

 

The Jade Heaven Alliance tried everything to disrupt them, deploying troops to intercept supplies and kill couriers, but Celestial Demon Troupe’s resources flowed without pause.

 

Food, weapons, and funds poured into their camp like an unending spring.

 

Only then did the Jade Heaven Alliance realize an unexpected ally was aiding Celestial Demon Troupe, using routes they hadn’t anticipated.

 

By the time they noticed, it was already too late. The Celestial Demon Troupe had built a formidable stockpile and was fully prepared for a long war.

 

From that moment, the slaughter became relentless.

 

The day after Celestial Demon Troupe’s attack, Jade Heaven Alliance launched a counteroffensive and dealt heavy damage.

 

The back-and-forth assaults continued for over a month.

 

Cracks began to appear in Jade Heaven Alliance’s mighty fortress walls, and the stench of rotting corpses spread across Dongting Lake.

 

To make matters worse, plague broke out. The lake became a literal lake of death.

 

Joo Shin-yoon, the Inner Court Master of the Jade Heaven Alliance, silently gazed at the blackened waters of Dongting Lake.

 

His face was filled with nothing but despair.

 

“To be pushed this far…”

 

Though Ja Hong-cheon was the nominal leader of the Jade Heaven Alliance, Joo Shin-yoon had been the one truly managing its affairs.

 

To him, the Jade Heaven Alliance was more than just a sect; it was like his own child, nurtured with everything he had.

 

He had prided himself on raising it to be strong and unshakable, but seeing it reduced to such a pitiful state shattered his heart.

 

As he stared across the lake, he wondered:

 

“Where did it all go wrong?”

 

No matter how he thought about it, there was no reason for the Jade Heaven Alliance to collapse so miserably.

 

The Jade Heaven Alliance was the center of the Jianghu, its ruler.

 

If it fell, the entire Jianghu—including the Seven Great Sects—would follow. Yet, the Seven Great Sects still refused to join the war.

 

“Do they truly seek mutual destruction?”

 

Joo Shin-yoon gritted his teeth.

 

He couldn’t understand the Seven Great Sects.

 

No matter how much they had bickered with the Jade Heaven Alliance, uniting against an external threat should have been the natural course of action. Yet, even in the face of theCelestial Demon Troupe’s’s terrifying onslaught, they stood by as if it were none of their concern.

 

If the Jade Heaven Alliance fell, there would be no one left to protect them. And yet, they watched indifferently as the Jade Heaven Alliance struggled.

 

“Fools…”

 

Just as Joo Shin-yoon clenched his fists—

 

Swish!

 

In that instant, a silver blade pierced through the darkness, lunging straight for his face.

 

“What—?!”

 

Instinctively, Joo Shin-yoon threw himself backward.

 

The blade grazed his cheek by a hair’s breadth, leaving a deep gash. Blood sprayed into the air, but he didn’t even register the pain—he was too stunned.

 

And the blade that had attacked him wasn’t the only one.

 

Swish! Swish! Swish!

 

More swords emerged from the darkness, striking from all directions.

 

“Assassins?”

 

Only one kind of people would launch a sneak attack under the cover of night.

 

Assassins had come for him.

 

 

 

Black-clad warriors emerged from behind the blades. Through the slits of their masks, their emotionless, lifeless eyes stared back at him.

 

There was no fear or excitement, only a chilling killing intent as cold and clear as a snake’s gaze.

 

Joo Shin-yoon didn’t ask who they were.

 

There was only one force in this war who would send assassins right now:

 

Celestial Demon Troupe!

 

He gritted his teeth and tried to call for reinforcements, but the assassins didn’t give him the chance.

 

Swish swish swish!

 

Relentless strikes came at him from all directions.

 

Their coordination was like clockwork—tight, seamless, without a single opening.

 

‘Damn it!’

 

Joo Shin-yoon didn’t ask who they were.

 

There was only one force in this war who would send assassins right now:

 

Celestial Demon Troupe!

 

He gritted his teeth and tried to call for reinforcements, but the assassins didn’t give him the chance.

 

Swish swish swish!

 

Relentless strikes came at him from all directions.^[a]

 

He drew his sword and counterattacked.

 

Slash!

 

One of the assassins lost his life to his sword. But even as his life slipped away, the assassin did not utter a single scream.

 

Seeing this, Joo Shin-yoon felt his blood run cold.

 

No matter how skilled an assassin was, they should still waver in the face of death—fear was a fundamental human instinct. But these assassins felt nothing.

 

They were killing machines, unafraid of death and unhesitating in dealing it.

 

They had infiltrated the Jade Heaven Alliance’s defenses effortlessly.

 

No matter how much the war had weakened their walls and patrols, this was still the Jade Heaven Alliance. Penetrating their surveillance should have been impossible. But Celestial Demon Troupe’s assassins did the impossible and launched full-scale assassinations.

 

Raising assassins like these was no easy feat.

 

And Joo Shin-yoon knew instinctively: these assassins had likely infiltrated the entire Jade Heaven Alliance and were assassinating key figures at that very moment.

 

Ding ding ding!

 

At last, the emergency bell rang.

 

Someone had survived and triggered the alarm.

 

Relief washed over Joo Shin-yun.

 

Perhaps the worst could still be prevented.

 

“They’re assassins! Celestial Demon Troupe’s hounds are here!”

 

Jade Heaven Alliance’s warriors poured out and began to fight back.

 

But Joo Shin-yun couldn’t relax.

 

Stab!

 

“Urgh!”

 

A deep wound tore through his body.

 

The assassins had taken advantage of his brief distraction.

 

They were like wolves, locking onto the wounded and refusing to let go.

 

Joo Shin-yun finally unleashed his secret sword technique.

 

Slice!

 

Two assassins were torn apart and collapsed in pools of blood.

 

The ground around him turned crimson.

 

Clutching his wound, Joo Shin-yun muttered:

 

“I must go to the lord’s quarters… I can’t waste time here.”

 

“Heh. By the time you get there, it’ll already be too late.”

 

A cold voice cut through the darkness, reaching Joo Shin-yun’s ears.

 

Joo Shin-yoon looked up in surprise. In his field of vision, he saw a man with disheveled hair walking leisurely toward him.

 

The moment their eyes met, Joo Shin-yoon felt dread grip his chest.

 

“Who are you?”

 

“Gong Woo-won! In Celestial Demon Troupe, they call me the Chaos Demon General.”

 

“Chaos Demon General?!”

 

Joo Shin-yoon’s eyes trembled.

It was because he had finally realized the identity of his opponent.

He was a member of the Ten Blood Demons, the highest-ranking warriors in the Celestial Demon Troupe.

The number of Jade Heaven Alliance members he had killed was beyond counting. In fact, some Jade Heaven Alliance warriors would have seizures just from hearing his name.

Though Joo Shin-yoon had heard of his reputation, this was the first time he had seen him in person.

“Don’t tell me… the entire Ten Blood Demons have mobilized?”

“……”

Instead of answering, Gong Woo-won responded with a cold smile.

That was enough for Joo Shin-yoon.

His blood ran cold.

The war had raged on, but no one expected the final battle to come this soon.

Joo Shin-yoon wasn’t the only one who thought this; the entire leadership of the Jade Heaven Alliance believed they had time.

But the Celestial Demon Troupe had shattered all expectations.

“One more question. Did your master also join this attack?”

“Our leader doesn’t like giving orders from the rear.”

“So… he’s personally involved.”

“By now, he’s likely already heading toward your Alliance Leader’s residence.”

“Damn!”

Joo Shin-yoon let out an involuntary groan. In contrast, Gong Woo-won’s smile deepened—the smile of a man certain of victory.

The assassins who ambushed the Jade Heaven Alliance were weapons Celestial Demon Troupe had raised with the utmost care.

They had been stripped of emotion, implanted with primal killing instincts.

The Celestial Demon Troupe called them White Ghosts.

Even the Celestial Demon Troupe struggled to control them, so they were considered expendable.

And today was the day they would be used and discarded.

The White Ghosts ran wild without concern for their lives.

Under that cover, Celestial Demon Troupe’s elite troops infiltrated Jade Heaven Alliance.

Gong Woo-won stepped toward Joo Shin-yoon.

In terms of pure martial prowess, Joo Shin-yoon was no weaker than Gong Woo-won. But he had already lost his momentum.

Gong Woo-won’s confidence grew.

“Today, Jade Heaven Alliance will fall. And the Celestial Demon Troupe will rise in its place.”

“Damn you!”

“Watch closely. See how your Jade Heaven Alliance collapses…”

With those words, he began to gather his internal energy.

As expected of a Ten Blood Demon, Gong Woo-won’s pressure surpassed human limits.

His momentum and energy snowballed, putting pressure on Joo Shin-yoon.

“Kryuk!”

Just as Joo Shin-yoon’s face contorted in agony, someone appeared behind him.

Tap!

A hand landed on his shoulder.

“Calm yourself, Lord Joo.”

The man, seemingly in his early to mid-50s, was a stranger to Joo Shin-yoon.

But he quickly answered the question in Joo Shin-yoon’s eyes.

“I am from the Heavenly Martial Squad.”

“Ah!”

That single phrase explained everything.

The Heavenly Martial Squad was comprised of the seventeen elite martial artists who had once served under the first Alliance Leader, Chu Yan Yun^[b]. Their legacy had been passed down through the generations, with each generation inheriting the same formidable power.

They were the Jade Heaven Alliance’s final trump card.

And now, in this moment of crisis, they had finally revealed themselves.

“Leave this man to me. Go to the Lord at once.”

“Please take care of this.”

The man smiled silently.

Joo Shin-yoon turned and ran toward the Lord’s quarters without looking back.

Gong Woo-won ignored Joo Shin-yoon and looked at the man.

“The Heavenly Martial Squad has mobilized? I’d heard they wouldn’t move even on the Alliance Leader’s orders.”

“That was when the Jade Heaven Alliance was strong. Now that it’s on the brink of collapse, we can’t just stand by.”

“Fair enough.”

Gong Woo-won  chuckled.

The man smiled gently.

His name was Jo Un-yeol.

Most knew him only as a humble fisherman on Dongting Lake.

Though part of the Heavenly Martial Squad, he had disagreed with Ja Hong-cheon’s path and stayed passive until now.

With the rest of the Heavenly Martial Division supporting Ja Hong-cheon, he couldn’t openly rebel; his only defiance had been his inaction. But that had been when the Jade Heaven Alliance was still standing.

Now that it faced annihilation, he could no longer afford to hold back.

He wasn’t the only one; the entire Heavenly Martial Squad was now in motion.

Surviving this crisis came first.

Holding Ja Hong-cheon accountable would come later.

Shing!

Jo Un-yeol drew the long object strapped to his back.

It was a fishing rod.

Holding it, he looked every bit the fisherman he pretended to be.

Gong Woo-won’s lips curled into a smile.

“Excellent.”

He recognized Zhao Yunlie’s skill at a glance.

This man’s martial prowess was no less than his own.

An opponent whose strength was impossible to predict.

Rather than feeling burdened, Gong Woo-won welcomed the challenge.

Gathering qi into his fists, he spoke:

“Gong Woo-won of the Celestial Demon Troupe. I’ll give this my all—let’s make it a fight worth remembering.”

“Jo Un-yeol of the Heavenly Martial Squad. I’ll do the same.”

Having exchanged their names, the two men took their stances.

In that instant, the air around them shook violently, as if going mad.

They measured each other’s breath for only a moment before clashing.

Boom!

With an explosive sound, the ground around them erupted.

Both men moved with fierce intensity, aiming to kill the other.

Similar battles raged all across Jade Heaven Alliance.

That night, the skies above Jade Heaven Alliance burned red.