Chapter 280. The Dark Heavens Association Rears its Head (1)

Hanlin Academy.[1]

An imperial government institution established in the early days of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, it had a long history.

In the current imperial government, it was responsible for various academic matters, including revising the emperor's edicts and handling official documents.

Hanlin Academy was an extremely exclusive institution, as only those who had passed the imperial examination with the best scores could enter. It had even produced cabinet scholars.

It was truly a gathering place for the most talented minds in the nation. However, despite its prestige, the treatment of its members was far from ideal.

"What’s the point of struggling to enter Hanlin Academy if, in the end, you just end up as an old man buried in the back rooms?"

"That's what I'm saying."

Not even Hanlin Academy could escape the purges of the Hongwu Emperor.

With so much talent concentrated in one place, it was too dangerous to be left unchecked. Often, the ink that ran through its halls turned into blood.

Even those without ambition fell victim to the purges simply because they were too skilled. Hanlin Academy had suffered greatly.

The only consolation was that most of its members held relatively low ranks, meaning that they suffered less damage compared to other organizations.

Yet, even after the death of the Hongwu Emperor, Hanlin Academy’s situation remained unchanged.

"Ah, if only the outcome of the civil war had been different..."

"Shh, shut your mouth. Have you gone crazy?"

Just over twenty years ago, the country suffered a civil war. The cause was the succession to the throne after the death of the Hongwu Emperor.

The Hongwu Emperor had appointed his eldest son, Crown Prince Yiwen, as his crown prince. However, Crown Prince Yiwen had passed before the end of the Hongwu Emperor's reign.

Afterward, the current emperor emerged as the next candidate for crown prince. However, the Left Grand Councilor, the Hanlin Scholar opposed it, saying that if a son died, his grandson should succeed him. Thus, the Hongwu Emperor's grandson, the Jianwen Emperor, had been appointed to crown prince at the time and soon ascended to the throne.

During the Jianwen Emperor's time, it had been the era of the Hanlin Academy, or rather, the era of scholars.

Since the Jianwen Emperor had been fond of learning since childhood, the scholars were able to support him and grow his power.

As time passed and he ascended to the throne, the scholars who had been supporting him since childhood naturally took up important positions in the government.

After that, the Jianwen Emperor, who, with powerful military power, pursued a policy aimed at weakening the power of his uncles and vassal kings who posed a threat to imperial authority. Thus, he clashed with his uncles, who were already upset about losing their throne to their nephew, and this led to a growing conflict, which eventually escalated into a full-scale civil war.

However, the civil war's outcome wasn't very good. As the scholars grumbled, the Jianwen Emperor was defeated and disappeared.

This marked the end of the sweet and short era of scholars. The current emperor purged most of the previous emperor's close associates, then vanished.

"What do you think, Lu Cun?"

"Pardon?" Lu Cun, a scholar of the Hanlin Academy in his mid-thirties who was sitting in a corner organizing books, raised his head and responded.

"Pardon my ass. Didn't you hear us grumbling?"

"Seniors, I didn't pass the state exam with the highest honors because I had some aspirations for the country or power. I did it because I wanted to escape poverty and accumulate some wealth. So, it's hard for me to make any comments."

To Lu Cun, ambition was a very foreign concept.

Some may have taken the civil service exam with great ambitions, but he wasn't like that at all.

He didn't want to get involved in pointless politics. He just wanted to work hard, receive his small salary, live comfortably, and close his eyes to the world.

After all, he was even at the lowest rank for Hanlin Academy officials, a Secondary Class Rank Seven Upper Grade Investigating Censor.[/ref]14th out of 18 ranks.[/ref]

"Is that so?"

His senior, Standard Class Rank Six Lower Grade Senior Investigating Censor Shui Zhuan, looked bored but said nothing more.

He and the others were no different from those who were stuck in the hidden back rooms, stagnant in their lives and just rambling.

"Well then, I’ll take my leave now. Thank you for everything."

"Everything? Oh, that's right, today is your last day... I completely forgot. I'm sorry."

"It's nothing."

"You've worked really hard until now. So, are you going back to the countryside?"

"I'll be taking it easy now with what I've saved up."

"If it weren't for the accident, you would have been able to stay longer... it really is quite unfortunate."

"Well, there's nothing I can do. Then, I'll be off now. Goodbye."

"Let's meet again later if we ever have the chance."

After a few final farewells, Lu Cun left Hanlin Academy.

Since he was planning on stepping down from his Official position of his own volition, the process was quite simple. He had also conducted all of his farewells in advance without any problems.

Since he didn't have any particular regrets, he left Hanlin Academy without looking back and went out into the market.

The moment he walked about two steps forward and entered an alley, a group of fierce-faced gangsters blocked the alley from before and behind him.

"Hey, one-armed Hyung. You seem to have quite a bit with you."

A man, clearly the leader, stepped forward with a crooked smile, his gaze fixed on the one-armed scholar.

"Did Censor Shui Zhuan send you?" Lu Cun asked without even raising an eyebrow.

The senior scholar with whom he had just exchanged farewells at Hanlin Academy was Censor Shui Zhuan.

"...!"

The leader of the gangsters frowned, almost as if he was asking how he knew. Lu Cun just raised his only hand as if he was annoyed.

Squelch! Squelch, squelch! Squelch, squelch!

"Ugh."

It happened so suddenly. The group of thugs who had been blocking the only escape route suddenly collapsed.

W-we chose the wrong bastard!

The leader's face turned as pale as a sheet of paper. He had lived in Black Hand for a long time, so he was quite sensitive when reading about the situation.

He quickly tried to escape, but he had already been caught by some black-clad men who had appeared at some unknown time.

"P-please, I'll tell you everything!"

Sensing that something was off, the leader's judgment was quick.

"There's nothing for me to hear."

Lu Cun shouted.

"Around dinnertime, you were asked to rob a middle-aged scholar who had retired from his official position and amassed considerable wealth on his way to retire to the countryside?"

"...!"

"He's only a junior rank anyway, and it won’t be difficult to handle him once he steps down. So, let’s raid his property and divide the spoils?"

It was as if Lu Cun was looking into the leader's head.

The leader didn't know what to say, since everything the man was saying was true. His mind raced, searching for a way to survive.

"Whatever."

"Wait..."

Squelch!

Before he could say another word, his head rolled to the ground.

"Investigative Censor Lu."

"It doesn’t matter anymore."

"Lord Blessed Existence."

"Yeah," the brain of the Dark Heavens, Blessed Existence, answered.

"Should we deal with the mastermind?"

"No matter how low the rank, it's annoying to deal with an official who still currently holds office. Leave it. More importantly, it's better to go see the Association Lord first."

"We've received your orders."

When they arrived at the specified location, a man waited for them.

"Destructive Soldier."

"So, Blessed Existence?"

Destructive Soldier, who had been waiting while prostrating himself, stood up.

"I heard you stopped acting like a scholar of Hanlin Academy, but I wonder if that was really necessary. Wasn't it a convenient position?"

Since Hanlin Academy was a part of the main imperial government, it was a place that could not only get information regarding the emperor or the imperial government but also the movements of local powers.

As an investigative censor of the seventh rank, Blessed Existence's authority to be read-in was low. However, since one could still hear a lot of rumors, it was a convenient position to investigate separately as a member of the Dark Heavens Association.

"There's no choice since our identities have been exposed."

Blessed Existence ground his teeth.

"Exposed?"

"Most likely, the Heavenly Demon, Warped Valor, leaked key information after losing to Zhou Xuchuan. There's no point in remaining in Hanlin Academy any longer."

That bastard hadn't been a double-edged sword. No, he had been no different than swinging a sword without a handle.

It was no surprise that Blessed Existence had been reluctant to cooperate with the Demon Cult. Not only had they been a pain in the ass on the battlefield, but they were almost certain to reveal confidential information without hesitation if they were to lose to someone.

"I see."

Surprisingly, Destructive Soldier's reaction was indifferent.

"Then, my role as the Regional Military Assistant Commissioner of Gansu Province ends here."

"Thank you for your hard work, Po Jun."

Gansu Province's Regional Military Assistant Commissioner Po Jun.

He was a handsome man, about six feet three inches tall, with distinct features and a chiseled jawline.

Although he was about to turn fifty, he still looked like he was in his thirties. He was dressed in neat military attire, and his well-defined muscles were evident even at a glance.

His hair was short, perhaps because he wanted to avoid it getting in the way on the battlefield.[2] He was also clean-shaven.

This was Destructive Soldier of the Seven Stars Division.

A Regional Military Assistant Commissioner was a Standard Class Rank Three Official, with four of them in each province.[3]

Each of the four Regional Military Assistant Commissioners was in charge of one of the four main military divisions: management, supplies, training, and quarters.

Destructive Soldier was in charge of training.

Normally, he was a military officer in charge of training the imperial government's troops to deal with the barbarians to the north. However, in reality, he was continuously working behind the scenes to convert officials and turn them into Seven Stars Division soldiers while remaining undetected by the imperial government.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"Well, if the source of the information is Warped Valor..."

"I, too, must have been exposed."

Almost simultaneously, Blessed Existence and Destructive Soldier prostrated themselves.

"Raise your heads."

On a chair as splendid as the emperor's sat a man.

"Isn't this funny?" the Dark Heavens Association Lord looked down at Blessed Existence and Destructive Soldier and asked.

"Not even the Martial Alliance Leader or the Evil Valley Master could find a single shadow of the Association, but a mere disciple of Mount Hua Sect killed half of the Association's heads."

It wasn't funny at all. No one could laugh.

Vast Gate. Twisted Melody. The Head Archivist of the Archive. Warped Valor.

One after another, they had all fallen. Between the Seven Stars Division and the Archive, four high-ranking figures had perished at this disciple’s hands.

"That's not all. It's not only the Righteous Faction but also the Evil Faction. Some wandering vagrant showed up and made a mess of things."

The unfilial son, the Rebellion of Dan Libai.

However, that rebellion had ended in a spectacular failure.

While the Eight Gates of the Evil Dao were torn in half, the damage wasn't as great as they had planned.

Originally, the Evil Valley Master and the other four forces should have suffered great damage as well.

"..."

The faint smile that had lingered on the Dark Heavens Association Lord’s lips vanished. His once-composed face twisted, his expression as contorted as a rag wrung dry. The emotions on his face were anger and humiliation.

The Dark Heavens Association, who had been hiding in the shadows and watching over the Central Plains murim, had been exposed by a single person.

The Dark Heavens Association Lord was one who wouldn't forgive even the slightest chance of exposure. However, he had been forced to step forward himself in order to subdue the Heavenly Demon.

Had the Heavenly Demon been just another muscle-headed brute, things might have been different. But he wasn’t, and now, his identity had surely been exposed.

Moreover, in order to move the force called the Demon Cult and smoothly conquer the

murim

, he had to reveal some secrets.

This was the reason why Warped Valor, who had joined late and had been difficult to trust, still knew such key information.

However, could he ever have expected the result to turn this way?

"It's fine."

As the clouds cleared, the moon poked its head out. The moonlight poured down, revealing the Dark Heavens Association Lord.

The face of the leader of the Dark Heavens was majestic. His thick and straight eyebrows were like the eyebrows of a dragon, and his skin, which had a few traces of the winds of time, was rough yet free of blemishes.

His thick lips gave off an aura of stubbornness, and his nose was so sharp it seemed as though it could cut.

His black hair, which barely grazed his shoulders, was pulled back neatly, revealing a broad forehead that gave off a manly demeanor.

"My life as Xun Yingguan of the Censorate is over. From now on, I will emerge as a martial artist."

"...!"

"I'll be taking things we can use from the Imperial Repository, so prepare for war."

"We've received your order!"

1. Literally the Academy of the Forest of Pencils, this is a real thing. ☜

2. Remember, at this time in history, men generally had long hair. ☜

3. In the nine-rank system, ranks 1-3 are only subdivided by class (Standard and Secondary), while ranks 4-9 are further subdivided into upper and lower grades. ☜