Chapter 333. March of the Dark Army (2)

If the Evil Faction members are pragmatists, then I'll compete through pragmatism.

The Gold Will Merchants were the largest and most reputable merchant group in the entire

murim

.

It all began with the Treasury of the Three-Eyed Godly Thief around ten years ago. Since then, the company expanded several times under the direction of the Merchant, King Li Yicai.

Ten thousand taels a day was no small amount, but it was well within the capabilities of the Gold Will Merchants.

There's a reason I made an ally out of the Merchant King.

Out of all the active figures in his previous life, the person whom Zhou Xuchuan had gone out of his way to transform into an ally, alongside Zhuge Shengji, was none other than the Merchant King, Li Yicai.

There was a reason he had recruited Li Yicai. By recruiting him, he was able to obtain money force[1], a power capable of doing anything.

In the eyes of the majority of the Righteous Faction members, leveraging such a force was unimaginable, even detestable, but Zhou Xuchuan was different. This was an

objective

mindset that only those who had experienced the Era of War and Chaos would have.

"

A-ahem!

He says it's for peace within the

murim

, so..."

"Yes! That's right!"

"H-hey! What about getting revenge for your friend?!"

"Hey, look here. Didn't you hear what the Sword God said? He said not

now.

He's not telling us to get rid of our grudges altogether, he's just telling us to put them off until later..."

"For the greater good! For the greater good!"

Guizhou's Evil Faction changed its attitude as easily as if they were turning their palms over.

Revenge is important, but... to be honest, that much is enough for me to hold back.

We're all just trying to make a living, anyway!

The atmosphere of the Evil Valley changed in an instant.

The storm that had been raging fiercely as if it would explode at any moment blew away like a gentle breeze. The seething heat and the curses disappeared. Instead, awkward coughs escaped their throats.

As expected of the Evil Faction members...

How ridiculous!

The Martial Alliance members were dumbfounded by the sight.

The word "pathetic" almost escaped their mouths, but they barely held themselves back, recalling the Sword God's speech just a moment ago.

Hmph!

However, out of everyone gathered, one person, or to be specific, one Association, was not only dissatisfied with the reconciliation between the two sides but was furious as well.

These shameless brats!

No matter how high the offer was, they had never expected the Evil Faction to roll over so easily. They were planning to infiltrate the speech and instigate a riot, but it seemed like no riot was going to happen.

"Are you in your right mind?"

"Don't make me laugh! Do you think I'd fall for that kind of money?!"

"I have to avenge my younger brother!"

"How can I trust those hypocritical bastards?!"

Of course, some couldn't accept it. They were the spies and

pure

Evil Faction members, but...

"I mean, if it's for the peace of the

murim

, we could definitely cooperate... but why are you reacting so harshly?"

"Are you by any chance part of the Dark Heavens Association? You're from the Dark Heavens Association, aren't you?!"

"Three taels of gold..."

"It's the Dark Heavens Association! It's the Dark Heavens Association!"

"Hey, where do you think you're going?!"

The majority had fallen for the money, so they easily ignored the opinions of the minority. An even bigger problem was the bounty placed on the spies of the Dark Heavens Association.

If one expressed even the slightest dissenting opinion, one would probably get kidnapped by the Evil Faction members who had nothing but gold in their eyes.

"

Huh?

Why are you hiding over there?"

The problem was that since there were so many people suspicious of those around them, the Seven Stars Division soldiers who actually belonged to the Dark Heavens Association were caught out.

Some of the Seven Stars Division soldiers couldn't hold out any longer and pulled out bamboo tubes with strings hidden in their arms.

"Damn it!"

Bang!

When they pulled the strings attached to the bottom of the bamboo tube, the tube opened, and red smoke burst out of it, exploding in the air.

"He really is from the Dark Heavens Association!"

"Catch him!"

"This one's mine!"

The Seven Stars Division soldiers' resistance did not last long. Although they were all stronger than the average martial artist, there were too many martial artists nearby.

They ended up getting captured without being able to do anything, and it was all thanks to the Evil Faction members who were blinded by money.

The Seven Stars Division soldiers in the dark decided to retreat even farther into the dark, afraid that they would get questioned for no reason.

Damn it, damn it...!

The operation had failed.

In a hideout somewhere in Guizhou....

"Report!" The Seven Stars Division soldiers shouted while prostrating themselves.

"We've confirmed several red flares in the plains near Weng'an!"

"So they failed," Destructive Soldier muttered calmly at the report.

"Vast Gate Star."

"Yes!"

"Aside from Zhou Xuchuan, are there any other masters who have arrived in Guizhou? Report all masters, excluding the existing ones like Meng Chuhe and Zhu Meng."

"The Righteous Faction has dispatched a separate support unit alongside Zhou Xuchuan, but they haven't arrived yet. According to the Blessed Existence Star's report, they are expected to arrive in four to five days."

"After reorganizing the troops today, we'll rest before attacking in three days."

𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"We've received your orders!"

The intelligence arm, Vast Gate Star, and the strategist arm, Blessed Existence Star, were busy.

Destructive Soldier looked up at the sky with his helmet by his side. Pure white snow drenched his forehead as he muttered, "So it begins..."

***

In a hideout somewhere...

The weather was cold, but the temperature of the room was rising. This was because Blessed Existence had just heard the report of the failure. When he heard Zhou Xuchuan's name in the report, he couldn't help but feel enraged.

Blessed Existence took a deep breath and regained his composure.

"This is within the margin of error."

He had a rough idea of the relationship between Zhou Xuchuan, his mortal enemy, and the Gold Will Merchants. He expected that they would handle the Evil Faction problem within Guizhou using money.

This is a better result than having the Domination God Monarch show up and persuade them. Having two of the Six Empyrean Overlords in one place would be too much even for Destructive Soldier.

The Domination God Monarch was the hero of the Evil Path, and he was an Empyrean Overlord as well.

Blessed Existence was very concerned about the Domination God Monarch's existence.

While he wasn't as infuriating as Zhou Xuchuan, he was still someone who had ruined parts of the Dark Heavens Association's grand plan, so Blessed Existence couldn't help but feel concerned about the Empyrean Overlord.

The problem is that the Domination God Monarch hasn't been seen recently. Where the hell did he go?

Worried about variables, Blessed Existence had searched throughout the

murim

using his remaining spies and the Vast Gate Star's network, but he couldn't find any trace of the Domination God Monarch.

There's not a single person in the murim who truly knows the Domination God Monarch. While there are those who claim to be his younger brothers, they're really just rabble and aren't true sworn brothers.

The only person who really knows his identity is the Evil Valley Master, but... since the Four Gates Rebellion, all of the spies I planted have disappeared, so there's nothing more I can do.

Even if he tried to plant spies again, the Evil Valley Master was so vigilant that they wouldn't be able to do anything.

It was only natural since he had been through a rebellion. Mow, there wasn't even a force left inside to keep the Evil Valley in check.

The Melody Gate, which had been a part of the Pure Faith Star, had lost its Gate Master, and to stay alive, it went under the Evil Valley Master's control.

If they had even the slightest amount of power, they would have been able to raise their voice somehow and take advantage of the gap. However, even that was impossible at this point.

The Evil Valley Master was not only a skillful martial artist, but he was also a cunning and highly vigilant individual, leaving them with no opening to do anything whatsoever.

Moreover, after the rebellion, they were looking for not just new spies but traitors and enemies as well, so the existing spies were forced to hide, making it impossible for them to do anything, too.

Blessed Existence leaned back in his chair, raised his only hand, and tapped the table, sighing. "Nangong Weiwu... if it weren't for him..."

Thinking back on what had happened a while ago, his anger boiled over again.

The great individual who shocked the

murim

—Nangong Weiwu. Involving the hypocrisy of the Righteous Faction, this was a heinous crime.

It had brought out the Juvenile Fist Emperor, the eye of a storm, out of hiding, and caused the Righteous Faction to split.[2]

However, in the end, the operation he had prepared with all his heart and soul had failed due to an absurd solution. It was a method that no criminal would ever dream of doing. It was a method that no hero would ever emulate.

He

had given up his martial arts, his position, and his honor. He gave them up without a second thought for the sake of the future. It wasn't something that one could decide on doing in that short of a time.

Blessed Existence couldn't understand the former Martial Alliance Leader.

"Hehe. Amazing, how amazing... When they want to reward someone, they'll take a long time investigating their origins, and the agreement of multiple people is also necessary.

"When it comes to punishing someone and blaming them, however, they act as if they're all united as one," Blessed Existence muttered sarcastically and laughed coldly.

He hadn't just sat back and watched, either.

He didn't just sit back and watch either. He had wanted to somehow take advantage of Nangong Weiwu's sacrifice, who had sacrificed himself for the Martial Alliance's existence.

However, there wasn't enough time, and the Martial Alliance's handling of the Nine Sects and One Gang as well as the Five Great Ancient Families was simply excellent.

While there was a way for him to shake the foundations of the Martial Alliance again if he tried hard enough, unfortunately, he neither had the time nor the manpower to do it.

In fact, since Blessed Existence had taken over commanding Blessed Existence Star, Vast Gate Star, and Twisted Melody Star, he was running out of time to eat, not to mention sleep.

While he knew that he would be able to weaken the unity of the forces or bring in more traitors if he were to shake the branches a little more, he also knew that in the end, it would be ineffective.

Thus, he decided that it would be better to just devise a plan to win the upcoming decisive battle.

"Where is the Juvenile Fist Emperor?"

Swoosh!

A Seven Stars Soldier appeared out of the shadows and answered, "It seems that he hasn't left the Martial Alliance."

"If there are any changes to the Six Empyrean Overlords and their status, report them to me, regardless of what's going on."

The North Sea Ice Palace seemed to be in a grim state due to the food shortages, so they only needed to be a little on guard; there was no need to worry too much.

The problem was the other Five Empyrean Overlords.

"I'll show you that the Dark Heavens Association will always win in the end."

Blessed Existence laughed coldly in the darkness.

Swoosh, Swoosh, Swoosh.

The sound of daggers flying through the air pervaded the darkness.

Avaricious Wolf, Tang Mingren, sensed someone and stopped moving, asking, "What is it?"

"We've received an order from Blessed Existence."

Tang Mingren received the order from the Seven Stars Division soldier and read it.

"And this is..." The Seven Stars Division soldier took out the document and paused.

It was hard to see because of his mask, but he looked worried.

"Is it about the Tang Family?"

"Yes, that's right."

"It doesn't matter. Report it."

Tang Mingren's face showed no anger, sadness, or disgust.

The Seven Stars Division soldier sighed in relief and then relayed the report.

"The Tang Family's head, Tang Youqi, is still stuck within Sichuan and has not moved. Moreover, while this is a bit outdated, we've received information that he had run for the Martial Alliance Leader position."

"Martial Alliance Leader?"

Tang Mingren let out a hollow laugh, sounding dumbfounded.

"As you already know, the result is..."

"Enough."

Tang Mingren put the dagger in his sleeve and got up from his seat. The shadows obscured his face. However, the soldier could sense that in the darkness, there was poison flowing from his eyes.

***

Three days later in Guizhou...

Mornings for martial artists began early. They woke up early at a time that was neither night nor morning, all for the sake of practicing qi cultivation before dawn.

Crunch, crunch, crunch.

The snow on the ground compressed deep as the guard warrior walked. The warrior who had been on guard all night yawned with his mouth wide open, while his fellow warrior dozed off.

"H-h-h-hey, wake up, you bastard!"

Bang!

Just before the dozing warrior could fall asleep, he woke right up as his fellow guard struck him on the back of the head.

"You punk! If you're going to wake me up, wake me up properly. Why did you hit my head?" he grumbled, almost swearing. He was a warrior of the Evil Valley.

Among the Evil Faction members, there wasn't a single martial artist who was gentle enough not to get enraged after getting hit in the head. Moreover, he was already extremely irritated because he hadn't been able to sleep properly.

"In front! In front!"

"What's in front? What? Is it some woman more beautiful than the heavens—

ah!

"

The warrior absentmindedly looked up, and his eyes widened.

A large army was on the horizon. The most striking of them all was a tall warrior clad in black armor with a spear on his shoulder.

The sleepy warrior instantly recalled the identification missives that had been handed down from above, and he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Destructive Soldier and a large army are up ahead!"

The Righteous and Evil Alliance versus the Dark Heavens Association...

The curtain was rising on the first showdown.

1. A play on the qi/sword/fist/etc force. ☜

2. Yes, I know the eye of a storm is the calmest part of a storm. However, here, it's meant to symbolize Jing Bai as the center of the impending storm that had almost split the Righteous Faction. ☜