Chapter 569 - Changes In Two Years

In the suburbs of East Sea City, there stretched a wilderness known as the Blooming-Flora Hills.

A colossal complex lay coiled in the Blooming-Flora Hills like a dragon. Buildings of uneven height stood row upon row, differently purposed buildings interlocked into a single vast entity. Their architecture bore the strong style of the Hongli Empire's eastern region, seemingly built to resist rain and dampness.

Curved eaves appeared everywhere, and the mottled tiles on pointed and domed roofs glittered beneath the sun like scattered gold. One could plainly see that the complex was solemn and majestic. It even had a quasi-religious sanctity that inspired longing and reverence.

This was the headquarters of the Golem Sect, a holy land in the eyes of Covert Martial Arts Practitioners. At least, it was sacred ground for practitioners from most small and mid-tier sects.

Two years earlier, the Eastern Covert Martial Arts community of the Hongli Empire had hosted an international exchange. At that gathering, the mysterious reclusive Golem Sect had astonished everyone.

Most of all, the sect master had, in the exchange's final bout, defeated Whale King Arlington, the foremost figure of the United States of Yana' Covert Martial Arts community, in open combat. He had displayed a domineering strength and fist technique. At the critical moment, he turned the tide and gained immense renown.

Thereafter, two further events hastened the Golem Sect's rise. The first was the high-profile expedition to the Eternal Archipelago. After the archipelago, every major Covert Martial Arts sect in the empire held no further doubt about the sect master and even displayed awe.

That awe felt less like regard for a man or a powerhouse and more like veneration of a sacred being walking the earth. The sole overlord, half a Holy Fist!

Such was the title whispered among heads and elders of the great sects. It expressed respect for Cassius as a transcendent figure who existed in a class of his own. Even venerable seniors felt that reverence in their hearts for a superhuman who stepped from the Covert Martial Arts path into sainthood.

The second event concerned Holy Snake Maya, a fist technique master of Blue Jia Dao from the Blue Star Empire, more than a year ago. He and Cassius had sat in discourse for seven days and nights near God's Tears Lake behind the sect, their thoughts colliding and mingling.

The sect master and Holy Snake had debated fist theory, spoke of the quintessence and mysteries of their arts, and even unleashed Wills that clashed and honed one another. The process was not closed off. Any sect member could come to the lake and listen in.

They had personally witnessed two master-class pinnacle experts clash in ideas and Will. At times, the collision of Qi had spread outward, forming a Qi field that carried their spirit. Within that field, practitioners would at times fall into a state akin to sudden enlightenment. Thus, they reaped huge unexpected benefits.

News of this spread widely.

The whole Eastern Covert Martial Arts community and visiting adepts from elsewhere were drawn by the rumours to the Golem Sect, causing its membership to swell. For a full seven days and nights, the numbers at the lake kept growing. On the final night, Cassius had personally demonstrated his Southern Dipper Covert Martial Inheritance.

He transformed into a blood vulture, a sonic snake, and finally into a white bird. The breathtaking scene was branded upon all minds. After Holy Snake Maya's death, the lake remained infused with the two's aura, turning it into a cultivation sanctuary. Training there, one would now and then gain an insight. On a sudden impulse, they might grasp a move lingering in Maya's or the sect master's residual Qi.

After bursting onto the scene and then accelerating through those two great events, the sect's influence could no longer be compared with two years prior. Its feelers slowly stretched into every corner of the empire. Its power even expanded toward the United States of Yana of the Southern Reef Continent and the many small nations in the Northern Reef Continent.

It vaguely carried the momentum to become the sacred land of the Covert Martial Arts world. Daily practitioners arrived from all over the empire and even other continents of the world. A winding road undulated into the distance across the Blooming-Flora Hills. Seas of fragrant flowers flanked it in every vivid hue.

Several cloaked parties advanced on foot along the road. They looked like pilgrims, weather-worn as though from faraway lands. The cloaked group headed for the sect, and an elderly figure at the rear slowly lowered his hood.

A bark-wrinkled face lay bare in the sunlight. His eyes were clouded, and his white brows drooped. He stood upon a gentle hill and gazed far ahead. There, the towering sect loomed like a giant, its summit reflecting resplendent gold and jade.

Behind it lay a teardrop-shaped lake, rippling jade-green and divinely fair. A small mountain took the last position in a triangle opposite the lake and compound. The peak was clothed in emerald and crowned with riotous blossoms.

A rocky ledge jutted out some tens of metres below the summit, upon which stood a wooden house half-hidden by pines and cypresses. That was where the sect master normally dwelled.

"Golem Sect... Sect Master..." The old man muttered to himself.

As he scanned the scant six-or-seven-member party ahead, he sighed inwardly. When, he wondered, could South-Crane Fist become a thriving, powerful sect? When could his life-long wish ever be fulfilled? Would he even live to see that day?

He lowered his head, then slowly drew a tattered manual from his robe. His withered fingers rubbed the cover, and his murky eyes brightened. They shone with desire and excitement, yet also unease and anxiety.

"The Secret Technique the Golem Sect offered a bounty for eighteen months ago is eighty percent likely to be our South-Crane Fist's Qi Gathering Technique..."

I just don't know whether that old reward and promise still holds. Alas, had I known sooner, just half a year sooner, South-Crane Fist would not have fallen so far and be forced to leave its homeland for this foreign land...

Thoughts churned in the elder's mind, his expression complex with feeling.

He slowly shook his head and noticed the few young South-Crane disciples ahead had turned and were quietly watching. Their eyes brimmed with lively expectation and eagerness; the hardships of the road could not dim their excitement.

The elder suddenly smiled. Raising a hand to point at the glazed-tile-covered complex ahead, he said, "We've arrived, children. We've reached the Golem Sect. All the tales we heard along the way—we can now see with our own eyes whether they are true. Pick up the pace..."

The cloaked party pressed on between flower seas upon the road. At last, like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, they merged into the sect compound.

***

Cassius’s study was near God's Tears Lake. He wore a loose soft coat, its stiff collar raised so high it nearly covered his chin. Seated in a cushioned rosewood chair, he leafed swiftly through a dossier. Pages rustled as their contents were memorised and analysed in an instant.

In four of the empire's counties, Wenxia County, Laurent County, Farr County, and Tut County, large-scale clashes and battles had erupted simultaneously.

Golem Sect's practitioners, Black Rain Manor Hellsings, and the Dark Hunter Organization's hunters had launched purges against dark creatures. Moreover, many ordinary citizens had appeared in this campaign.

Over two, nearly three, years had passed.

The influence of the Golem Sect was all-encompassing, not to mention Cassius had formed an alliance with the official supernatural force, the Dark Hunter Organization. When this news was publicised and spread on a wide scale, the vague mysterious force that once kept matters confined seemed unable to restrain them any longer.

This caused certain people of higher status or special professions to learn of dark creatures and these human-devouring foes. At first, they fell into panic and fear. They dreaded that some monster would leap out and kill them any second. That panic quickly turned into a fierce will to survive and a desire for self-protection. They began seeking forces capable of opposing dark creatures, hoping to grasp power over their own fate.

And without doubt, the easiest avenue for ordinary folk was Covert Martial Arts, whose entry threshold was lowest. Granted, Covert Martial Arts cultivation still required talent and insight. Yet with perseverance, training, and a flood of herbs and funds, common people could achieve something, albeit with modest ceilings.

By contrast, the supernatural realm demanded an entry credential: one had to possess the talent of wielding arcane energy. In other words, only with a super ability could one train further.

Black Rain Manor was stricter still; one had to be chosen by the manor. Consequently, informed ordinary humans flocked to Covert Martial Arts, causing it to flourish in the last two years.

Of course, part of the boom was owed to the archipelago expedition bringing back many ancient Secret Techniques from the fist technique armory. Thus, with both factors combined, the empire's Covert Martial Arts community became extraordinarily active.

When foreign combat experts started to come to the sect for exchanges, thoughts clashed while bouts abounded. Thus, the once slow-moving Covert Martial Arts world embraced a fervent transformation and a fresh martial wave.

The martial craze sank into the populace and even affected corners of the globe. The leader of this, naturally, was the Golem Sect. The sect not only held an open stance of exchange and mutual aid which kept pace with the times, it even actively simplified techniques, propelling the craze.

The Six Southern Dipper Volumes and the Golem Heart Codex also played major roles in this boom. Once Cassius applied the Qi Engraving Technique, each of the six volumes became a fist technique manual. These books carried an inherent allure that was powerfully infectious, enabling rapid initiation and grasp of strength.

Many sect members studied the volumes and, building on them, infused their personal insights, refining the system and forging unique paths. Derivative fist techniques spawned still more derivative techniques, rendering the structure ever more complete.

The sect proactively integrated these spin-offs, keeping their essence and discarding the dross. Naturally this produced simplified versions of the Six Volumes, move-sets akin to explosive techniques.

Undoubtedly, these burst-style combat techniques suited ordinary people. One needed only an amateur level, akin to a hobbyist. They could study and, if they were talented, apply them outright for astonishing explosive effects. It was highly practical.

As for the Golem Heart Codex, Cassius devised it specifically for ordinary humans to train with. Its inspiration came from Golem Seeds and Golem totems. It was an addictive regimen: the more one trained, the more one craved training. It was harder to quit than any vice!

It inherited the Golem Seed's fine tradition yet was simplified into a method anyone could practise. The codex's principle, like the Golem Seed, was to form a beneficial life magnetic field that strengthened the body bit by bit.

In theory, the codex needed no expensive herbs required by other arts, only large amounts of meat to fuel the body. Its threshold was low, so it had a broad audience. Naturally, should one bathe daily in body-nourishing decoctions, the codex's effect would improve further.

Thanks to the Six Volumes and the Golem Heart Codex, many erstwhile ordinary folk had gained power. Though not strong, they could already fight back! The simultaneous uprisings and hunts against dark creatures in four counties had only proved it.

In the study, Cassius closed the dossier, lips curling into a smile. This was how it should be. It was only by raising a tide and stirring a great current that they could counter the coming undertow!

Humankind must seize its fate and never let go!

"Odo, keep a close watch on those counties and manage the overall situation. Don't let the turmoil spread elsewhere or disturb ordinary lives..." Cassius glanced sideways at Odo, one of the four commanders, who was quietly brewing tea.

"Understood." Odo set the tea down and accepted the file.

The office door swung open with a

click

. A cloaked Fog Man strode in without knocking, excitement plain.

"Sect Master, the Secret Technique you sought a year and a half ago has finally been found. A sect named South-Crane Fist has come voluntarily to the sect to offer the technique..." Fog Man stated the matter concisely.

"The missing section of the Qi Engraving Technique?" Cassius narrowed his eyes and rose slowly.

"By the way, Master. While questioning South-Crane's last elder, I uncovered something else," Fog Man continued. "Half a year ago, a force outside the empire began covertly attacking Covert Martial Art sects worldwide. They specifically target third-rate or obscure sects in mid-sized or small nations... According to the elder's information, this force is likely the Gate Organization. It has decayed, but not died! It has returned..."