Chapter 318. To Become Young Again (2)

The party, having returned to their homeland, left Leizhou Port and headed north. On their way back to the Martial Alliance, they heard some troubling news.

“Have you heard about the recent commotion?”

“There have been many commotions in the

gangho

. How am I supposed to know what you're talking about when you put it like that?"

"The Black Shadow Division of the Martial Alliance, the Black Shadow Division."

“Black Shadow Division? What is that?”

“As the name suggests, it’s the Martial Alliance’s, or rather, the Righteous Faction’s Black Shadow. I heard that the Martial Alliance kidnaps people when necessary and interrogates them in an underground prison.”

“When did you hear these rumors? You’re not someone who’s traveled from the past to the future, are you?”

It was the rumor about the Black Shadow Division.

Apparently, much had happened since their journey to the South Sea, but the most concerning among the recent rumors was the Black Shadow Division.

Because the Martial Alliance controlled information, the name "Black Shadow" itself had been forgotten by the people. However, there had always been rumors that the Righteous Faction had, behind the scenes, done things no different from the Evil Valley or the Demonic Path.

"Stop being sarcastic. The story has resurfaced recently. And this time, it seems like the rumor might actually be true."

"Ha, really... What's the basis for that? In the past, the Martial Alliance officially announced that it was a false rumor, and there was no other evidence, right?”

"Pfft, look at this guy being so naive. Did you really believe that? You don't believe that the officials are truly honest and work for the people, do you?”

“But there’s no evidence either...”

It was no exaggeration to say that the Righteous Faction was enjoying its status as the greatest power of its time.

Not only had they won wars against the Demonic Path in succession, but they had also gained the support of the people due to the hero’s actions.

When they first heard the rumor, everyone dismissed it as false. But the subsequent rumors made them begin to half-believe it.

“There’s evidence.”

“There’s evidence? What evidence?”

"Didn't you hear how the Poison Dragon, Tang Mingren, betrayed the Righteous Faction's

murim

a while ago? It seems that the cause of that was the Black Shadow Division. I heard that he was a member of the Black Shadow Division, but had left because he couldn't endure the poisonous orders sent down from above to torture the prisoners.”

"I mean, aren't you the one who's naive then? Isn't that Tang Mingren one of the executives of that Dark Heavens Association? The words of someone like that...”

"I told you, it's not a testimony, it's evidence. It seems that Tang Mingren presented documents related to it, too. Moreover, the documents aren't ordinary."

"...could it really be true?"

The leader of the Avaricious Wolf Star, Tang Mingren, had been trained as a Black Shadow Division member since childhood. After becoming an adult, he had joined the Black Shadow Division in place of the head of the Tang family and took charge of almost everything.

Unfortunately for the Righteous Faction's Martial Alliance, Tang Mingren was excellent at his job, too excellent, to the point that he knew too much.

Their problem was that such a talented and well informed Tang Mingren had become an enemy.

Moreover, the Black Shadow Division was also centered around his Tang Family.

Since no one had wanted to take on such dirty work, while the Black Shadow Division members may have been from all different affiliations, the command was centered on Tang Mingren.

This would later deal a fatal blow to the Martial Alliance.

When the rumor spread, the Martial Alliance denied it all.

"Tang Mingren is an executive of the Dark Heavens Association, and is a traitor who has been deceiving the Righteous Faction

murim

for a long time. This is a trick to weaken the unity of the Righteous Faction

murim

with sweet talk."

A person of the Righteous Faction was expected to be honest and pure. Being part of the Righteous Path meant that one had to walk the path of righteousness. If they were to admit to something like this, their identity would collapse completely.

"What I was worried about has happened."

As if he had been waiting for this moment, Zhuge Xiang worked hard in the battle of intelligence.

This was the beginning of a war, not of swords, but of words and pens.

They had expected that this would happen someday after Tang Mingren's betrayal. Zhuge Xiang had even thought to himself,

After all this time... now?

It was only after a while that Zhuge Xiang personally realized why the Dark Heavens Association had been hesitating.

“Have you finally realized the hypocrisy of the Righteous Faction?”

“The Nine Sects and One Gang and the Five Great Ancient Families, the so-called prestigious sects, are using their authority to commit dirty deeds behind the scenes.”

“To be honest, they’ve been hiding it all along..."

“Listen, fellow martial artists of the

gangho

! Three years ago, my father was falsely accused and kidnapped...”

At this point, whether one was from the Righteous Faction or the Evil Faction hardly mattered anymore. Starting from the Black Shadow Division, criticism of the Righteous Faction’s dark side spread rapidly throughout the region.

The problem was that it wasn’t just baseless slander. A shocking three out of every ten rumors turned out to be true.

Including Avaricious Wolf himself, Tang Mingren, the Avaricious Wolf Star had infiltrated deep into the

murim

and recruited important figures.

As most of them had authority, they knew a lot, and this was used as valuable information.

“Is this enough wind? Keep your promise.”

“Of course.”

The Dark Heavens Association had an incredible understanding of the human mind.

They had a deep understanding of people’s greed and dissatisfaction—and they used it to cunningly deceive and corrupt them.

At first, their contacts only passed on a little bit of information, but as time passed, they became bolder and passed on confidential information.

This eventually became a weakness, and they had no choice but to follow whatever the Dark Heavens Association desired.

In addition, the Dark Heavens Association would seduce them with secret techniques or take their families hostage to make them follow their orders.

It was a process that had been conducted for a long time, so it had gone smoothly.

"A lie needs to be mixed with a little bit of truth to be effective. Even if only a third, or even a fourth, is the truth, there's no arguing against it. With just that little amount, that lie would become the whole truth."

It didn't matter if some of it was later revealed to be false.

"So, is there a Black Shadow Division or not?"

“It’s not that there isn’t one, but...”

“Then it’s true!”

Having no other choice didn’t make it justifiable. It was nothing more than a rationalization.

As a force that claimed to walk the Righteous Path, the Martial Alliance had done something it should never have done.

That much could not be denied.

Although some of the rumors were exaggerated, the Black Shadow Division, which was the center of the controversy, truly existed.

People were foolish creatures who believed what was right in front of them, and when their numbers increased, mob mentality took over.

"I told you, I knew it."

"Ha! There really isn’t a decent person left among the leaders!"

“Maybe the Dark Heavens Association are the ones who will cause a revolution in the

murim

?”

There were even those who supported the Dark Heavens Association.

The person who started the controversy was amazed when he saw the public opinion.

“...Wow. I didn’t think it would go this far.”

"Since ancient times, good deeds rarely spread or gain recognition, while evil deeds become amplified beyond their truths. People are animals of hatred who always want to hate even the smallest of things."

Blessed Existence sneered as he read the document.

"Moreover, if you pour ink on a piece of paper covered in ink, that doesn't really change much about it, but if you pour ink on a blank sheet of paper, there's a great difference."[1]

If this were the Evil Valley or the Demonic Path, it wouldn't have been a controversy. Even if they heard about such an incident, they would take it lightly and dismiss it.

"Not even martial artists who train in the mind can let go of hatred or disgust. Even martial artists who were masters of the Harmony Realm and had attained enlightenment through the true nature of their Path would be the same. So is there any point in worrying about how others will react?"

"..."

"Simply damaging the Martial Alliance’s reputation is enough, there's no need to continue after that. The public is obsessed with controversy, and they're foolish enough to take things to the extreme, grabbing people by the collar or even ruining their lives. At some point, being right becomes more important to them than knowing the truth. Isn't that funny?"

They had prepared quietly to expose all of the secrets at once.

The moment the secrets were exposed, they ignited public outrage. The winds of change seized that spark and fanned it into a storm of hatred and loathing.

“The Righteous Faction values the right and the morality that Laozi values, and honor is more valuable than anything. Thus, today’s situation will deal a great blow to the Righteous Faction’s

murim

, and not even Zhou Xuchuan would be able to do anything about it.”

When he heard that Zhou Xuchuan was leaving for Hainan Island, he had decided to put his plan into action.

First, he used the Eastern Island pirates to disrupt Zhou Xuchuan's mission. Second, he prepared catapults to block his return home.

Of course, he wasn't just trying to buy time. He aimed for the deaths of the Tactician Phoenix, Merchant King, and the Divine Physician through the Eastern Pirates and catapults.

“You are truly terrifying, Blessed Existence.”

Tang Mingyin shuddered.

What was truly terrifying was that Blessed Existence had orchestrated all of this from beginning to end.

It was hard to believe a single man could oversee the affairs of the entire Central Plains. Not even Zhuge Xiang, the Heavenly Strategist, could do that. It wasn't for nothing that he was the brain of the Dark Heavens Association.

Although he had suffered frequent failures due to Zhou Xuchuan, the Dark Heavens Association’s most hated enemy, nemesis, and natural predator, Blessed Existence was anything but ordinary.

Even though his arm had been severed and several of his plans were ruined, he wasn't flustered and kept making flawless moves, exuding an overwhelming presence.

“There's a new report, Lord Blessed Existence."

“Speak.”

“The Guangdong ambush has failed. Zhou Xuchuan has returned. The Merchant King, Divine Physician, Tactician Phoenix, Wave Sword Phoenix, and the Mechanism Freak have all survived."

Blessed Existence’s eyebrows twitched. It wasn't that he hadn't expected the possibility of failure, but he was angry that they weren't able to kill even one of the targets.

Sensing his reaction, the Seven Stars Division soldier quickly moved on to the next report.

“The Juvenile Fist Emperor has appeared in the Martial Alliance.”

“Oho..." Blessed Existence responded immediately.

“That was faster than expected.”

"Than you expected?"

Tang Mingyin looked at Blessed Existence with a questioning look in his eyes.

“Could it be that you, Blessed Existence, made the Juvenile Fist Emperor move?”

The Juvenile Fist Emperor had remained unmoved even during the Great War of Good and Blood and the Great War of Good and Demonic. He wondered what kind of sorcery the strategist had used to make this happen.

“No.”

A smile grew on Blessed Existence’s lips.

“The hypocrisy of the Righteous Faction is what summoned the Juvenile Fist Emperor.”

***

The Juvenile Fist Emperor, Jing Bai.

There was no one in the

murim

who didn't know his name.

Jing Bai was living history.

He was already over a hundred years old and had experienced all sorts of events in the

murim

for two, no, three generations.

The Absolute Master of Youth Restoration!

.[2]

No one knew exactly when it happened, but at some point, the Juvenile Fist Emperor had reached the pinnacle of martial arts, and upon reaching that realm beyond, he had physically returned to being a child.

When an old master reached the pinnacle of martial arts and became young again, it was commonly called Youth Restoration.

However, this rumored Youth Restoration was theoretically impossible and only existed in legends.

𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

One could become younger by undergoing two or three Bodily Reformations, but even then, the most one could hope for was to return to their thirties or forties.

However, for some reason, Jing Bai had returned to his childhood form and maintained his youth without aging.

"Your junior of the

gangho

greets you once again."

The sight of the gray-haired old man greeting the boy with a polite gesture was surreal.

But then again, how many people deserved to be greeted like that by the Completion Sword and Martial Alliance Leader?

“What is it that brings you, Senior, who went into seclusion more than a dozen years ago, to the

murim

?”

The Great War of Good and Blood and the Great War of Good and Demonic.

The reason why the Juvenile Fist Emperor hadn't appeared in the important events that determined the fate of the Righteous Faction was because he had cut ties with the secular world long ago.

“What is it?"

Jing Bai furrowed his eyebrows.

“You were so pure in your youth, but the older you get, the more muddied you seem to become.”

"You know full well that the position of head of the Nangong Family and the Martial Alliance Leader aren't positions that could be filled with just one's cultivation alone, don't you?" Nangong Weiwu answered with a bitter smile.

“An ideal is an ideal

because

it is an ideal. As one gets older, one tends to compromise with reality.”[3]

“So.”

There was anger in Jing Bai’s voice.

“So... so you committed hypocrisy?”

“..."

"There's a saying: 'When I do it, it's romance, but when others do it, it's an affair.' Just like that saying, this is truly a double standard."[4]

Jing Bai rose to his feet. His neatly braided hair swayed behind him like a tail before settling.

“If the rumors were false, I would have returned to the mountains and finished out my remaining lifespan. After all, what kind of regret would this old man, who has no children or disciples, have?”

The Juvenile Fist Emperor looked like a child, but he wasn't immortal. Even though he was still young, his remaining lifespan wasn't long.

“Do you still remember what happened a long time ago?”

“How could I forget?”

“Then that’s enough.”

Jing Bai got up and turned around. The sight of him walking slowly, holding his hands behind his back like an old man, was incredibly strange.

“It’s your turn next.”

He didn’t harbor any bloodlust, but nevertheless, Nangong Weiwu broke out in a cold sweat.

“Senior, are you perhaps part of the Dark Heavens—"

“Don’t get involved with those kinds of people.”

Having become an Absolute Master through his fists, he snorted and disappeared into the darkness.

“I’ll come back for you later.”

Jing Bai’s presence had completely disappeared.

Nangong Weiwu sat on the veranda, looked at the empty space left by Jing Bai, and muttered bitterly.

“Even as time passes, you still always seem to be pure, senior. Almost... almost like a child...”

1. My favorite idiom on this matter is, 'if you pour a goblet of shit into a barrel of shit, it's still shit. If you pour a goblet of shit into a barrel of wine, you don't have wine, you have shit.' ☜

2. This is the literal title, and is a phenomenon like Bodily Reformation. However, I used the more sentence-like structure in the translation of the title for poetic reasons. ☜

3. Yes, that's what it reads in the raws. ☜

4. An idiom on how everyone can make excuses for their actions, even if the actions are wrong. Also, fun fact, my dad's favorite idiom. ☜