A dark shadow was cast around the eyes of the Muryeongjin who looked at the training hall.

The training hall, which should have been full of Taoist experts practicing martial arts in the past, was empty. It was because the experts of the Qingcheng sect lost their motivation.

Of course, all of them practice martial arts during the set training time.

But that was it.

In their free time, the experts either stayed in their dormitories or they climbed the peak of Mount Qingcheng to recover their weary minds and bodies.

Last year’s bloodbath left a huge scar in the hearts of the Qingcheng disciples. This had made them lose their motivation. For that reason, the experts showed a more obsessive attitude towards Taoism, such as reading texts, rather than training in their spare time.

Considering that the Qingcheng is a Taoist sect, the appearance of such Taoists should have been desirable. However, from the point of view of Muryeongjin who had to lead the Qingcheng sect, he had no choice but to feel a strong sense of crisis.

The Qingcheng sect of today is now walking on an unwritten path.

“Hu! Aren’t you glad that your senior uncle came along?”

If Muryeongjin had been alone, he would never have been able to overcome this pressure. Thankfully, Go Yeop-jin was able to manage the atmosphere of the sect.

The worst came to an end when Go Yeop-jin returned to the mains sect.

He took disciples who seemed to be full of potential. He intends to raise new pillars that will lead the Qingcheng sect. So the people he took with him were all talented people among the Qingcheng sect disciples.

The old man took them to the valley where he stayed in order to train them properly.

Go Yeop-jin promised Muryeongjin seven years.

He declared that he would risk everything he had to nurture these experts who would lead the future of the Qingcheng sect.

In fact, he was already fully prepared. He just didn’t do it before because he didn’t have to.

However, now that the sect’s situation has changed. Not unless he tries to take an extreme measure, he would have to worry about the survival of the sect.

As an elder of the Qingcheng sect, he had no reason to hesitate. So Go Yeop-jin took the disciples with him as he went back to the valley, where he previously hid in isolation.

“Raising and teaching these disciples is my responsibility. You don’t have to worry about them anymore. You can just focus on changing the atmosphere of the main sect.”

Muryeongjin thought that changing the atmosphere of the Qingcheng sect was an urgent priority. As long as the sect member’s self-esteem, which had recently fallen to the bottom, was saved, the rest would be solved by itself.

When Muryeongjin was contemplating the plan, all of a sudden,

“Senior Brother! May I come in? It’s urgent!”

A familiar voice was heard.

It was the voice of Muhwajin.

“Come on in.”

“Senior brother!”

“What’s the urgent news?”

The Muryeongjin opened the door and looked at the Muhwajin with a puzzled expression.

“The Thunder Gates are outside!”

“Hu…!”

Muryeongjin let out a sigh without realizing it.

The incident where  Mu Jeong-jin killed Tae Yeon-ho, the sect leader of the Thunder Gates, was a disgrace to the Qingcheng sect. Although the act was done because Mu Jeong-jin was in a state of corruption, it could not be easily forgiven.

“The Thunder Gates warriors are demanding punishment to the person responsible.”

“Mu Jeong-jin is already dead, who else should be responsible?”

“That is…”

“Tell me.”

“They want the sect leader to take responsibility.”

“Hu…!”

Muryeongjin let out another sigh.

His face was full of misery.

It was natural for him to take responsibility for what Mu Jeong-jin had done.

However, if the Qingcheng sect had been in good shape, then the Thunder Gates would not have dared to demand them to take responsibility like this.

All of this seemed to mean that the Qingcheng sect is declining, so he felt even more sad.

“I will tell them to go back.”

“Don’t. I’ll be seeing them.”

“Senior brother! You don’t have to! Their demands are too much.”

“No, it’s just appropriate. It’s true that Mu Jeong-jin killed the Thunder Gates’s sect leader Tae Yeon-ho. And at that time, we should have stopped Mu Jeong-jin somehow.”

“That was— an accident.”

“Do you really think so?”

“…………”

Muhwajin did not answer.

Because he couldn’t convince himself of his excuses.

Muryeongjin passed by Muhwajin, and said,

“Since I am the sect leader, it is natural for me to solve it. Let’s go.”

“Yes, senior brother!”

In the end, Muhwajin had no choice but to bow his head.

When he went out, the disciples had already gathered. They, too, had heard the news that the men of the Thunder Gates had gathered outside.

In the past, they would have ignored them with a sneer, but because the situation of the Qingcheng sect was a mess, a dark shadow was cast on the faces of the disciples.

Muryeongjin passed by them without a word. He opened the gates of the sect and came out.

Outside, the Thunder Gates warriors were all lined up.

Muryeongjin said to them,

“I am Muryeongjin, the sect leader of the Qingcheng sect. I heard that you wanted to meet me.”

At that moment, a man came forward from among the Thunder Gates.

“I am Wu Jinghua, the new sect leader of the Thunder Gates.”

“So you’re the new sect leader.”

“As the legitimate successor of the Thunder Gates, I will want to hold the Qingcheng sect accountable for the death of the former sect leader.”

“Responsibility… How do you want me to take responsibility?”

“It’s obvious. Since our sect lost our sect leader, the life of a person of similar status must also be taken.”

An angry voice erupted from the Qingcheng sect’s disciples at Wu Jinghua’s words.

“Hey!”

“How dare you threaten the sect leader of our school?”

“Go down Mount Qingcheng right now!”

No matter how much they were hurt or depressed, the disciples still had the pride of being a member of the Qingcheng sect.

The eyes of the Qingcheng sect disciples, who were glaring at the Thunder Gates members, were full of anger.

Wu Jinghua’s eyes trembled.

‘Hikk! He said that if we go up to the Qingcheng sect and make a fuss, he’ll do the rest himself.’

He remembered Heukam.

Driven by his fear of Heukam, he had no choice but to follow his orders and climb Mount Qingcheng. But the fear attached with the name of the Qingcheng sect remained in his heart.

That was then.

“I am Yi Pyeong, the sect leader of High Sky Sect.”

Suddenly, a strange man appeared between the Qingcheng sect and Thunder Gates.

Muryeongjin was delighted with the appearance of the new person. This is because the High Sect is a subsidiary sect of the Qingcheng sect.

“Oh! Why are you here? Are you here to take the side of the main sect?”

Muryeongjin’s face was full of anticipation.

However, Yi Pyeong’s subsequent reply completely betrayed his expectations.

“I think the Thunder Gates demands are appropriate.”

“W, what?”

“How dare you say nonsense?! How can the sect leader of the High Sky sect treat the main faction like this?!”

The disciples of the Qingcheng sect could not hide their bewildered expressions at Yi Pyeong’s unexpected answer.

The Qingcheng and High Sky sect have maintained a close relationship for the past 100 years. No matter how wrong the Qingcheng sect was in the recent incident, their relationship was not so bad for the High Sky sect to criticize them so unilaterally.

Then another man came out.

“I am Jo Gyeol-ho, the sect leader of the Jinseong sect. I also agree with the opinion of Mister Yi Pyeong.”

When even Jo Gyeol-ho took the side of the Thunder Gates, the embarrassment of the Qingcheng warriors reached its peak.

Jo Gyeol-ho wasn’t great at martial arts, but he had a great reputation for being fair and just. When even such a warrior came out and took the side of the Thunder Gates, they felt as if the Qingcheng sect had committed a mortal sin.

‘So this is what he prepared. But this is not enough.’

Wu Jinghua clenched his fists.

With two sect leaders of well-known factions in Sichuan Province showing their support, the demands and will of the Thunder Gates were strengthened. However, since the walls of the Qingcheng sect were tall and high, this might not be enough to overcome them.

It was not known why Yi Pyeong and Jo Gyeol-ho were on their side. He just thought that this was all plotted by Heukam. Since going by common sense, these two people had never been on the side of the Thunder Gates.

At this time, the disciples of the Qingcheng sect were ready to attack the Thunder Gates warriors.

Muryeongjin, with an anguished expression on his face, asked,

“Do you really think that I should be held responsible for his death, Sect leader Yi?”

He once again asked about the decision of Yi Pyeong of the High Sky.

Yi Pyeong nodded without hesitation.

“That’s right.”

“And sect leader Jo also thinks the same?”

“I also agree with Mister Yi.”

Jo Gyeol-ho also responded vigorously.

Muryeongjin looked into the eyes of the two. At that moment, the eyes of Muryeongjin became sharp. Because he sensed a ray of peculiar energy in the eyes of the two of them.

Muhwajin noticed the same thing. He whispered into the Muryeongjin’s ear,

“The two of them seemed to be in a strange condition. They’re probably out of their minds.”

“I think so too.”

Their expressions became more serious.

While they’re dealing with the issue of the Thunder Gates, two people appear who don’t seem to be sane. The problem is that they can’t just ignore them because of their position.

That was then.

“Sect leader, I have something to tell you!”

A disciple slowly approached behind Muryeongjin’s back.

It was one of the Qingcheng sect’s great disciples, Cheong-gyeong.

“What is it?”

Muryeongjinin answered with his gaze still directed towards the members of the Thunder Gates and Yi Pyeong.

At that moment.

Puuc!

Suddenly, he felt a burning pain in his lower back.

As he turned around, he saw a dagger the length of an adult’s palm piercing his waist. The one holding the dagger was Cheong-gyeong.

Muryeongjin’s eyes widened at the unbelievable sight.

“Y, you?”

“If you do something wrong, you have to pay the price.”

Cheong-gyeong spit out words monotonously, like a person without emotions.

“What are you doing, Chong-gyeong!? How dare you commit the sin of betraying your sect leader!”

Muhwajin was very angry and struck Cheong-gyeong with the palm of his hand.

Bang!

With the palm of Muhwajin, which was loaded with profound qi, Cheong-gyeong could not even scream. He just collapsed and bled on the floor.

“Keuk!”

The figure of Muryeongjin, who was stabbed, also collapsed.

“Senior brother!”

Muhwajin supported the fallen Muryeongjin by the waist.

At that moment, a warrior behind Muhwajin’s back pulled out a dagger that he had hidden in his arms and attacked him.

“Heuk! Sehun, why are you–?”

The person who carried out the surprise attack was Sehun, another great disciple of the Qingcheng sect. He was a disciple whom Muhwajin loved because of his gentle and reliable personality.

At the disciple’s surprise attack, the Muhwajin couldn’t help but be terrified.

Muhwajin managed to dodge Sehun’s attack and subdue him.

But the problem is that it wasn’t just Sehun.

Suddenly, the rest of the Qingcheng sect disciples attacked their fellow disciples as if they were possessed by something.

“Why–?”

“Senior brother! Why are you doing this?”

The confused voices of the Qingcheng disciples echoed throughout the training grounds.

Yi Pyeong, the sect leader of the High Sky sect, then shouted,

“All of you, High Sky disciples, go and attack the Qingcheng sect!”

At the sudden and unexpected command, the disciples of the High Sky sect also looked bewildered. But since it was a command from their sect leader, the warriors of the High Sky sect just followed and attacked the Qingcheng sect with a look of helplessness.

It was the same for the disciples of the Jinseong sect led by Jo Gyeol-ho.

“AHHH!”

The warriors of the Jinseong sect rushed while shouting.

Wu Jinghua’s complexion turned white in the unexpected situation. Although he had led the members of the Thunder Gates, he did not know that the situation would change so rapidly.

The voice of Heukam flew into his ears, who did not know what to do.

—What are you hesitating about, you idiot! Go and attack them!

At that moment, Wu Jinghua ordered the Thunder Gates disciples to attack as if possessed by something. With the Thunder Gates also participating in the battle, the training ground became a mess in an instant.

The disciples of the Qingcheng sect seemed to go crazy in a situation where they had to fight against the Qingcheng sect traitors as well as against the warriors of the Thunder Gates, Jinseong sect, and High Sky sect.

“Everyone, stop!”

Muhwajin shouted until his throat was to burst, but it was to no avail.

Blinded by madness, the warriors attacked each other and fought fiercely. The training grounds of the Qingcheng sect were soon stained red with each other’s blood.

It didn’t matter who triggered the situation. Blinded by vengeance, the warriors of both sides executed their techniques one after the other.

“Kerhyuk!”

“Geugh!”

The screams of the people pierced the blue sky of the Qingcheng sect.

“Heh heh!”

There was only one person who was having fun with the bloody situation.

It was Heukam who was wrapped in black clothing. He was sitting on a huge tree overlooking the training ground of the Qingcheng sect while smiling.

He was genuinely delighted to see the tragedy he had created.

The harbinger of chaos.

That was his other nickname in Xiaoleiyin Temple.

A being who completely dominates the minds of others with his white eyes, skills and drugs.

It was as easy as breathing for him to create chaos and fear.

After dominating the minds of several people, he can induce a situation where there’s internal conflict among them. And if the situation is driven by a large-scale crisis, all that is left is self-destruction.

Heukam could not stand the joy.

In front of his eyes, the situation was getting out of control and getting worse.