Chapter 166: Chapter 166
Martial Alliance temporary headquarters, Alliance Leader’s Palace.
Three rare martial artists of the Realm Beyond the Heavens and the brain trust of the Righteous Path martial world sat around together.
An awkward silence continued until the four small teacups placed on the tea table turned cold.
Sima Hwi was displeased that the Poison King had killed Blood Tiger Lord.
The Poison King did not like Sima Hwi’s insolent gaze.
Alliance Leader Bukli Cheon had many thoughts while gauging the mood between the two. On the other hand, Cheon Woo-jin had no particular thoughts.
In the end, the one who could not endure this awkward atmosphere was Bukli Cheon, who had the most thoughts.
“You say Blood Tiger Lord died?”
“Yes. Senior Poison King drove a dagger into his neck and killed him without asking or questioning.”
Sima Hwi spoke coldly. Judging strategically, it was right to send Blood Tiger Lord back alive. They had already insulted him sufficiently, and having killed the Twin Yin Yang Elders he brought, the prestige of the Martial Alliance would not fall either.
The act of killing an envoy of the caliber of Blood Tiger Lord would return as a great pain if the day ever came when they had to converse with the Demonic Cult in the future.
As Sima Hwi glared at the Poison King unnecessarily, Bukli Cheon cleared his throat awkwardly and changed the subject.
“In the end, it amounts to declaring war on the Demonic Cult, so for now, declare a state of war and issue a mobilization order.”
“Yes, I shall declare a Grade B emergency and send an official dispatch separately to the Imperial Palace as well.”
The Martial Alliance divided states of war into Grades A, B, C, and D.
Grade D was a state of tension.
Grade C was a state of readiness.
Grade B was an order for martial artist mobilization and cooperation. Sects and clans in cooperative relationships with the Martial Alliance had to dispatch thirty percent of their combat power, and others with their respective professions had to cooperate as much as possible if there was anything to assist with.
For instance, when war broke out, preparing meals for thousands, tens of thousands of martial artists to eat was also a tremendously arduous task. Chefs of inns and taverns that were usually friendly with the Martial Alliance would all gather, merchants would provide funds, physicians would be hired, and blacksmith shops would not stop hammering through the night.
Lastly, for Grade A, sects and clans with ties large and small had to mobilize their full strength. Assistance was compulsory for all physicians, blacksmiths, chefs, merchants, and other specialists in each field.
It was not a recommendation, but an order.
It was the reason they could usually receive protection under the massive name of the Martial Alliance.
Sima Hwi suddenly let out a deep sigh and spoke to the Poison King.
“Killing Blood Tiger Lord was a mistake.”
“Then was I supposed to stand idly by and watch my benefactor be insulted? I would rather wage war than do that.”
“It is not a war that Senior fights alone. If the Righteous-Demonic War breaks out, how many will die?”
“Originally, martial artists are those who live with death always by their side. If they fear that, they should lay down their swords.”
“Will only martial artists die? Who bears the responsibility for those deaths?”
For a moment, sparks flew between the two.
The Chief Strategist seemed poised to lock the Poison King in the dungeon, while the Poison King seemed poised to smash the Chief Strategist’s head.
Before such a tragedy could unfold, Bukli Cheon stepped forward.
“What is the use of arguing the rights and wrongs of what has already happened? Chief Strategist, let us think only of what to do from now on. How could I not know of your hard work? I merely feel apologetic at all times.”
“…I understand.”
Sima Hwi bowed his head. In any case, as his direct superior acknowledged his hard work, it seemed his mood had eased ever so slightly.
Bukli Cheon also said a word to the Poison King.
“Senior, please consider the Chief Strategist’s face from now on as well. You know well what happens if the strategist’s prestige hits rock bottom during wartime, don’t you? Do you know how like a child the Chief Strategist rejoiced when Senior woke up?”
“Ahem, I shall do so from now on.”
As the atmosphere relaxed somewhat, Bukli Cheon spoke to both the Poison King and the Chief Strategist.
“Apologize nicely to each other. In a situation like this, is it the time for us to be having a battle of nerves amongst ourselves?”
“Ahem! Chief Strategist, I apologize to you. Thinking back on it, it was certainly a hasty act.”
“Not at all. My words to Senior were also too harsh.”
Cheon Woo-jin, quietly watching the scene from among the elders, sent a voice transmission to the Alliance Leader.
– Is this an academy?
– Matters like this know no distinction between children and adults originally.
– The position of Alliance Leader is exceedingly tiring.
Bukli Cheon flinched.
– N-No. It is a position with many good points unexpectedly.
– Then please lead the Alliance for a long time.
Soon, Bukli Cheon sank into despair. The sound of retirement, which had suddenly drawn near, seemed to be receding far away once again.
Meanwhile, Sima Hwi, whose mood had completely cleared, formally adopted the demeanor of a strategist and spoke.
“As expected, the best thing is for war not to break out. We must clearly show how intact the Martial Alliance is, and how many across heaven and earth aid the Alliance. In that sense, this mobilization order is deeply meaningful. We must rally as much support as possible.”
Saying so, he looked at Cheon Woo-jin. Fortunately, there was no worry about money thanks to Cheon Woo-jin hooking the Ten Thousand Gold Manor Lord, and thanks to him bringing the Divine Physician and the White Night Craftsman, there was no worry about physicians and blacksmiths either.
As the Chief Strategist, how adorable Cheon Woo-jin appeared lately was beyond words.
At that intense gaze, Cheon Woo-jin unnecessarily changed the subject.
“Senior Poison King, have you completely recovered?”
“Yes, rather, it is better than before I took to my sickbed. Because while lying down, I cut out everything bad for the body like those ox-nosed Daoists doing closed-door cultivation. And yet, it seems I instinctively continued to circulate my cultivation method. My mind and body are in a purer state than ever.”
“That is a relief.”
“It is all thanks to you.”
Cheon Woo-jin shrugged his shoulders. He had changed the subject because the Chief Strategist’s burning gaze was burdensome, but this time, the Poison King’s even more burning gaze was burdensome.
“It is thanks to Senior Divine Physician and Uncle Dok-ra-su striving with tremendous determination. I did not do anything in particular.”
When Dok-ra-su was mentioned, the Poison King’s expression grew complicated.
Since Dok-ra-su, whom he had driven out upon becoming family head, had returned and treated his illness, he must have felt strange.
Clap. The Chief Strategist clapped his hands, refreshing the atmosphere.
In any case, the return of the Poison King was something to welcome with open arms as a strategist.
“Well, there is a positive side to this matter as well. The Poison King killing an expert of Blood Tiger Lord’s caliber in a single blow. When that news spreads to the west, the Demonic Cult bastards will tremble in fear of Senior’s poison.”
Contrary to the bright expression of the Chief Strategist, the Poison King’s face was filled with worry. Around the time everyone was bewildered without knowing the reason, the Poison King spoke cautiously.
“Actually, what killed Blood Tiger Lord was not my poison.”
“Pardon?”
“I merely used a deadly poison from the Sichuan Tang Clan. It was not my own unique poison as a Poison Master. I have lost the realm of the Poison Master.”
“…!!”
The Alliance Leader and the Chief Strategist were shocked.
However, it was something Cheon Woo-jin had anticipated to some extent.
Because that distinct prickly feeling sensed from those who had attained Poison Master, like Dok-ra-su, Tang Bi-cheon, and Tang So-yeon, was absent.
“In the process of treating the illness, Dok-ra-su’s extreme yang poison burned away not only the impurities inside my head, but all of my poison as well.”
“…Then what will you do?”
“I must accumulate it anew. Accumulating all kinds of poisons within my body and refining them in my own way to make them unique. Since it is a path I have walked once, it won’t be as difficult as before. The problem is time. I anticipate it will take at least ten years.”
A Poison Master who had lost their poison was like a martial artist who had lost their internal energy.
Because he had the realm he had achieved, he could command a tremendous level of poison arts even by utilizing external poisons, but fundamentally, all poison arts of the Sichuan Tang Clan were martial arts created with the Realm of the Poison Master in mind.
It meant that drawing and using poisons from outside ultimately had its limits. The formidable Poison King from before he collapsed was absent for now.
“Ten years, ten years…”
The Chief Strategist, repeating it as if desolate, soon said it would be best for only the four people here to know this fact.
It was when everyone was nodding their heads.
“If you have another deadly poison, can the time be shortened?”
At Cheon Woo-jin’s question, the Poison King narrowed his eyes.
“The poisons of the Sichuan Tang Clan are already splendid, though.”
“What if it is a poison far stronger than those?”
“It might advance it a little, but it won’t be very meaningful. In the first place, before losing the realm of the Poison Master, the poison I harbored was the Number One Poison Under Heaven.”
Ultimately, no matter what deadly poison he used, it meant a process of making it into the Poison King’s own unique poison was necessary to regain his previous level.
And that period was ten years.
“What if there is a poison far stronger than the poison you originally used?”
“There is no such poison.”
The Poison King was full of confidence. It was not arrogance, but merely stating facts calmly.
Amid the drooping atmosphere in the room, Cheon Woo-jin took a small pearl from his bosom and placed it on the table.
“What is this?”
“Flood Dragon Poison. It is poison qi extracted from the inner core of the flood dragon.”
“A f-flood dragon?”
The Poison King was rarely flustered. Even he, knowledgeable about all kinds of creatures, did not know that a flood dragon actually existed.
If it was truly poison harbored in the inner core of a flood dragon, it would never be weaker even when compared to the Poison King’s own poison.
“Take a look.”
Cheon Woo-jin suggested.
The Poison King carefully gripped the Flood Dragon Poison. Soon, when he rallied dark green energy, the poison qi contained within the pearl swirled wildly.
Sizzle!
In an instant, the Poison King hurriedly pulled his hand away from the pearl. The skin of his palm was slightly melted, struck by the poison.
“Heo, is it truly the poison of a flood dragon?”
Few poisons under heaven could melt his skin. Not only that, the poison felt within the pearl was an atrocious deadly poison seen for the first time in his life.
“To be precise, the flood dragon sublimated the poison of the Poison Valley’s First Valley Master into its own.”
“It is an embarrassing thing to say, but I cannot control this poison. To think there could be a poison this fierce and violent.”
Nodding, Cheon Woo-jin retrieved the Flood Dragon Poison.
The Poison King, watching that scene, asked.
“What do you plan to do?”
“If I end up finding no use for it, I plan to destroy it. Because it is too dangerous an item.”
If even the Poison King clicked his tongue in disbelief, he thought there would be no poison arts master who could handle it.
The Poison King also agreed with Cheon Woo-jin’s words.
“Those are correct words. An uncontrollable poison is worse than none at all.”
“Should I just chuck it at the Demonic Cult? Like a Thunderbolt Bomb.”
“…”
The Poison King’s eyes widened. If such a deadly poison were hurled blindly without precise calculation and control… for starters, plenty of demonic practitioners would die. It would probably inflict damage beyond imagination.
However, that land would also become desolate. The real problem was that since all lands and waterways in the world were connected, there was no telling how that poison qi would affect the Central Plains.
In the worst case, the entire Yangtze River traversing the Central Plains could become contaminated. If that happened, the Righteous-Demonic War would not be the issue, but the entire country would meet ruin.
“It’s a joke.”
“…It really is a joke, right?”
The Poison King scrutinized Cheon Woo-jin’s expression intently. No, what kind of joke did someone tell with a face like that?
However, seeing the Alliance Leader and the Chief Strategist remain calm as if accustomed to it, it seemed he was originally this kind of rascal.
While the Poison King struggled to understand, Cheon Woo-jin was secretly fondling the Flood Dragon Poison beneath the tea table.
‘No matter how much I think about it, it seems like a fine method.’
* * *
After the mobilization order was issued, martial artists were gathering from all over the country.
In a mid-sized sect with over three hundred subordinate martial artists, they were originally supposed to send a hundred men, which was thirty percent, yet there were cases where they manipulated their size and sent merely thirty men.
On the other hand, in sects where twenty men were all they had, every member drew their swords and gathered, shouting to slaughter the Demonic Cult.
Of course, upon winning the war, the Martial Alliance would remember the latter sects far longer.
As human affairs always were, there were also those who ignored the request for cooperation. Since they were people who had reaped benefits under the name of the Martial Alliance until now, it was quite insolent behavior.
Normally, if an official dispatch was sent again with strengthened phrasing, they would make this or that excuse and send money at least.
However, there were also those who held out to the end or fled. The Martial Alliance did not bother to go capture such people. Because they would bitterly regret it once the war ended anyway.
However, there was one faction that could by no means be overlooked.
The Chief Strategist pondered for several days over how to handle them, and eventually summoned Cheon Woo-jin.
“The Thunderbolt Gate has vanished entirely.”
“Where could such a large faction have gone?”
The Thunderbolt Gate was a sect that held a cooperative relationship with the Martial Alliance, albeit formal. It was also a dangerous place where humans crazy about explosions spent their entire days eating, sleeping, and detonating things.
“Even if others who ignored the mobilization order are punished after the war ends, the Thunderbolt Gate must never be treated so. What happens if they join the Demonic Cult with all those Thunderbolt Bombs?”
“We must catch them.”
“Indeed. If we cannot win them over, we must at least confiscate all the gunpowder and Thunderbolt Bombs they possess. It is not that we intend to use them, but to prevent them from flowing into the Demonic Cult. Therefore, I shall entrust this matter to you.”
“Why me of all people?”
In this vast land of the Central Plains, finding those hiding tightly would require information networks far more than martial might.
When Cheon Woo-jin wore a puzzled expression, the Chief Strategist gave an unexpected answer.
“Who is the person with the best intelligence network under heaven right now?”
“Well. Wouldn’t it be one of the Beggars’ Sect Chief, the Hao Sect Leader, or the Eastern Depot Director?”
“Truly surprisingly, there is only one person under heaven who can mobilize all three of them.”
“Ah.”
Cheon Woo-jin nodded his head.