Chapter 209 |
At the same time.
The Nine Sects One Faction and Eight Great Families – the core of the Martial Righteous Alliance – had gathered.
In total, eighteen sect leaders and family heads had assembled.
The Martial Righteous Alliance originally began as a gathering of righteous sects.
Naturally, those with great power in the martial world wielded significant influence within the Alliance.
As a result, the Nine Sects One Faction and Eight Great Families inevitably became the Alliance’s pillars. However, this didn’t mean smaller sects weren’t members.
Many smaller sects had joined the Alliance. But they struggled to have a voice in its operations.
Instead, they allied themselves with the Nine Sects One Faction or Eight Great Families.
Yes.
Only the Wudang Sect was absent due to delays.
However, a Wudang elder previously dispatched to the Alliance would attend the meeting in their stead.
This was a gathering of giants who moved Central Plains. It included martial artists that Late Foundation Stage practitioners had aspired to become.
“The White Dragon Medical Pavilion isn’t participating?”
While the White Dragon Medical Pavilion is a martial arts sect, it’s not part of the Alliance but rather an external cooperative sect. Though we acknowledge their special position… lately it feels like they’re taking advantage of that position…
The Alliance Leader’s brow furrowed slightly.
But ultimately, this is what the current martial world brought upon itself, so what can be done?
What did the Nine Sects One Faction and Eight Great Families do when the Zhuge Clan massacre occurred?
Only the Wudang Fist Emperor and Cloud Dragon Escort Agency extended their help, but none raised their sect’s banner.
No one answered young Zhuge Rin’s fury.
That boy grew into a young man alone, his hands stained with blood on a solitary path, earning the title Divine Doctor White Dragon.
After that, everyone thought:
He would die soon.
The Nine Yin Meridian Obstruction was heaven’s punishment, and while those who gained it became once-in-a-millennium geniuses, they were also fated to die young with no escape.
They thought him a glass sword – sharp but destined to shatter.
Yet that glass sword reached forty years of age.
The Divine Doctor White Dragon in his prime let everything go. Both grudges and justice, he released it all.
He let go of the world.
If he would fade away soon anyway, everything was meaningless.
He simply secluded himself in the White Dragon Medical Pavilion without leaving an heir.
Everyone was relieved.
Then the forty-year-old Zhuge Rin met young Jin Cheonhee.
At the time, the martial world was abuzz about the Divine Doctor White Dragon’s new successor.
Word spread that while the Divine Doctor White Dragon was fearsome, his successor was virtuous.
They thought that after the Divine Doctor White Dragon passed, they could build new relationships with the Little White Dragon.
However, the Little White Dragon succeeded in treating the Divine Doctor White Dragon.
And now.
The Divine Doctor White Dragon acted as if he’d forgotten all martial world grudges, operating purely as a cooperative organization at the Dragon Phoenix Gathering, while rumors circulated about secret exchanges with evil sects and demonic cults.
Of course, these were merely speculations based on circumstantial evidence, with no proper physical evidence or witnesses emerging.
He was a fearsome one.
To show no openings despite such thorough investigation.
What are your true intentions, Zhuge Rin?
Founding King Ak Jin, the current Alliance Leader, calmly analyzed the situation with deep-set eyes.
In any case, it’s clear he values his disciple above his own life. Naturally, someone who’s begun looking to the future prioritizes protecting over taking.
Even Ak Jin could deduce this much intent.
What exactly are you trying to give your disciple, Divine Doctor White Dragon?
Does he plan to create an emperor’s position in the martial world and crown his beloved disciple?
While the intention was clear, his methods remained obscure.
It felt like playing Go blindfolded.
What’s more frightening was that the opponent knew our moves.
From investigations, there are only reports of the Little White Dragon being a great humanitarian and virtuous person.
At first, his every action seemed unbelievable.
Could someone really neglect themselves to such an extent to help others?
Yet problematically, no other motives were visible.
Moreover, the Little White Dragon recently authored two books.
One was [Efficient Battle Formations Against Jiangshi: From Research to Clinical Practice].
Why he chose such a title instead of typical martial arts manual titles like ‘Jiangshi Destruction Formation’ or ‘Zhuge’s Battle Formation’ was completely incomprehensible.
While this could be attributed to the Little White Dragon’s eccentricity…
What was truly remarkable was that he distributed it throughout the martial world and allowed anyone to make copies.
Typically, such knowledge was only passed down through families and sects.
This was true regardless of whether they were righteous or evil.
The martial world operated on secret transmission.
Yet the Little White Dragon freely shared [Efficient Battle Formations Against Jiangshi: From Research to Clinical Practice] with everyone, and even made it free.
He helped poor families read and follow it.
He even included alternative methods for those without advanced martial arts, so that even those unable to deploy the formations against jiangshi…
Could at least buy time, save lives, and wait for help – an achievement worthy of exclamation.
The Jinzhou Eon Clan won’t be pleased, but there’s nothing they can do.
Naturally, the Jinzhou Eon Clan, who specialized in jiangshi, weren’t happy about this.
However, their reputation had been plummeting due to indiscriminate jiangshi use by third parties.
With their main income from funeral services declining, they faced unavoidable financial damage.
Thus, the Jinzhou Eon Clan chose to embrace this oddly titled battle manual [Efficient Battle Formations Against Jiangshi: From Research to Clinical Practice], actively promoting it.
While secretly obtaining copies first to study and find countermeasures.
The second book was a medical text.
[Practical Home Medicine: Basics].
This title too was… somehow strange.
Why such a title rather than ‘Complete Herbal Medical Record’ or ‘White Dragon Basic Medical Text’ was inexplicable.
However, its contents couldn’t be ignored.
It provided ways for commoners who couldn’t afford medical clinics to treat illnesses. All required ingredients were commonly found in mountains and fields.
Beyond just treating illness, it included wound treatment methods.
It detailed how to treat injuries too minor for medical clinics but too difficult for home care.
And when suffering major injuries that were impossible to handle alone.
It thoroughly explained which physicians to seek to save time and money.
[Introduction to Home Medicine: Basics] was allowed to be copied through White Dragon Medical Pavilion branches and affiliated local clinics.
Since many commoners were illiterate, it included illustrations for easy understanding.
Village chiefs were already dispatching people to make copies and distribute them throughout villages.
In slums too poor to make copies, they freely distributed books to the most respected individuals.
This would save many lives.
In some ways, the Little White Dragon’s aims align with mine….
He was watching with interest.
However. The karma created by the Nine Sects One Faction was great.
And since a master’s grudge becomes the disciple’s grudge…
The Founding King knew he couldn’t dare be greedy.
Finishing that thought, he raised his head.
Including himself and the Alliance’s Commander-in-Chief, twenty people.
These gathered giants of righteous sects were having informal discussions before the main meeting.
The Founding King himself was once head of the Shandong Ak family but had stepped down to become Alliance Leader.
His child attended as the current head of the Shandong Ak family.
The child gave their father a deep look.
“…”
No further conversation occurred.
Busy handling Alliance matters, he hadn’t been a proper father.
He even ordered them to treat him as Alliance Leader, not father, here.
He feared showing closeness might raise suspicions of using the Alliance for personal gain.
While unavoidable, his child likely harbored deep resentment.
Still, they performed their duties better than anyone.
As the Alliance Leader’s gaze lingered briefly on his child’s profile…
“We’ll begin the emergency meeting.”
Just as the child turned to look at their father, his gaze dropped.
As if nothing had happened, the Founding King continued.
“Commander-in-Chief[1]. That item.”
Alliance Commander-in-Chief Dokgo Seon[2] stood and placed something on the conference table.
Thud!
It was a human arm.
However, strangely, the blood had congealed, showed no signs of decay, and somehow retained vitality.
“As you know, this is a jiangshi’s arm.”
“Hmm…”
Everyone drew deep breaths.
“The Jinzhou Eon Clan has confirmed… evidence shows this is a new type of jiangshi never before seen in the martial world. The Blood Immortal Sect that caused the massacre at Wudang Sect appears to definitely exist.”
At Dokgo Seon’s words, all eyes turned to the Jinzhou Eon Clan head.
Clan Head Eon Saeng-do.
A Transformation Realm master skilled in both corpse arts and martial arts.
For a sect of that caliber, it would be difficult for its leader to not be in the Transformation Realm.
“I checked personally. The method differs from our family’s, from that Taoist priest’s jiangshi, and from past demonic cult methods.”
“Couldn’t the demonic cult be deliberately making it appear different?”
The Jinzhou Eon Clan head shook his head.
“Corpse arts and jiangshi arts can’t be manipulated that way. Like all martial arts have roots, jiangshi arts have their foundations which cannot be completely escaped. No matter how exceptional one is, there are limits to what can be concealed.”
“Different from the roots?”
“The method of creating jiangshi already deviates from normal patterns. In other words, it’s a new school of jiangshi arts. I stake the Jinzhou Eon Clan name on this declaration.”
The Jinzhou Eon Clan head wanted to find the culprit more than anyone.
This head staked his family name on the declaration.
At those words, everyone began murmuring.
The Alliance Leader continued.
“There is more evidence of a third force.”
He showed everyone the Blood Immortal Sect’s ledgers found by the Three Seasons Tiger, the methods and circumstances of rituals performed in secret shrines.
And information extracted from interrogating those captured during the Wudang massacre.
“Alliance Leader, are you certain this third force exists?”
“The evidence I’ve just revealed is the most substantial and decisive. At present, the existence of a third force is considered confirmed.”
The Founding King’s credibility within the Alliance was absolute.
The clear evidence he presented shattered any vague optimism like glass.
All that remained was accepting this devastating reality.
“Blood Immortal Sect. Where did such people emerge from…”