Chapter 75
The black-clad figures who appeared gazed at Jaseong's group in silence.
Those whose bodies were completely shrouded in black clothing exuded the dignity unique to an expert in even the smallest of their movements.
As silence filled the air, one of the black-clad figures stopped in front of Jaseong and spoke.
"Is this the headquarters of Hao Sect's Ansun branch?"
To that question, Jaseong replied calmly.
"Hao Sect, you say? You've come to the wrong place. This is just an ordinary inn."
However, the black-clad figure smirked, scanning the interior of White Fragrant Pavilion.
"It's quite the plausible hideout. In such a short time, you've managed to expand this much."
"?"
With those words, the black-clad figure removed the bamboo hat they'd been wearing.
In that moment, Jaseong's eyes widened slightly.
It was a face he'd seen in the past, at the Dark Path Duel Banquet.
Gal Seo-ryeong, Hao Sect's guardian general, was there.
"Sorry for the late response. Much has happened at Hao Sect's upper echelons in the meantime."
Gal Seo-ryeong sat at the table and wet her throat as she spoke.
"But..."
"?"
"The rumor that you single-handedly took down the three leaders of Three Souls Hall was true."
Gal Seo-ryeong's gaze swept over Jaseong's entire body.
"Back at the Dark Path Duel Banquet, your ki was only at late 1st-rate. Yet now, when did your ki grow so much stronger?"
Jaseong answered curtly.
"I simply trained diligently."
Gal Seo-ryeong's eyes flashed with vivid interest.
"As expected, you are an intriguing one. Now let's go."
"Go? Where to?"
"The Sect Leader is waiting for you."
"......!"
At Gal Seo-ryeong's reply, Jaseong's eyes grew a bit wider.
Even with his emotionless personality, he couldn't help but be surprised.
The master of Hao Sect.
He was about to meet a person whose face no one in the entire martial world had ever seen.
Just what kind of being was he?
According to rumors, he was said to be an incredible expert...
* * *
Afterwards, Jaseong followed Gal Seo-ryeong to the Hao Sect's upper echelons.
Waiting outside White Fragrant Pavilion was a six-horse carriage, its interior completely obscured by a black curtain.
Once Jaseong, Lee Rin, and Gu Janghu boarded the carriage, Gal Seo-ryeong put black blindfolds over their eyes.
"The place we are going has never been exposed to outsiders. I'm sorry, but this is Hao Sect's rule, so bear with it."
The carriage rattled off down the road.
It seemed to travel for days and nights without stopping.
In the darkness, not a single ray of light seeping in through the carriage windows, Jaseong recalled Fierce Sky Faction Leader Pacheon Gong's warning from the past.
—Gal Seo-ryeong, Hao Sect's guardian general, joined the clan late, yet climbed to the top most quickly. She is a woman who will use any means or methods for her goals. Get on her wrong side, and it'll be like being bitten by a viper's fangs.
That was why Jaseong did not fully trust Gal Seo-ryeong.
Not yet.
Kriiik—
After traveling for several weeks, the carriage carrying Jaseong's group finally stopped.
"We've arrived. Take off your blindfolds."
Only then did Jaseong's group remove the blindfolds.
But that moment—
"?!"
He couldn't help but twitch his eyes.
A truly astonishing sight was spread before them.
An enormous hall situated deep within the mountains.
The hall's walls were wrapped in ancient vines, and the surrounding area was thick with heavy fog, creating a mystical atmosphere.
'So this is the heart of Hao Sect... Hidden this deep in the mountains, it's no wonder no one has ever found it.'
The grand gate of the hall swung open, and Gal Seo-ryeong took the lead.
"Follow me."
With Gal Seo-ryeong guiding them, Jaseong's group entered the enormous hall.
After passing through a long corridor, they arrived at a magnificent inner chamber with an incredibly high ceiling.
There, the twelve hall masters of Hao Sect were waiting.
Among them was a face familiar to Jaseong.
It was none other than Do Unjang, the Lord of Black Blood Hall, who had appointed Jaseong as Ansun branch leader.
He gave Jaseong a delighted smile.
[You've grown a lot in this short time.]
[It's been a while, Lord of Black Blood Hall.]
[Let's have tea privately later.]
With that, Do Unjang ended the transmission.
But among the twelve hall masters, there were also those who looked at Jaseong with sharp, wary eyes.
'So many are wary of me.'
Given the rapid rise of the Ansun branch, it was only natural.
While Jaseong checked each face of the twelve hall masters, Gal Seo-ryeong bowed with a cupped fist salute toward the black curtain beyond.
"Sect Leader, I have brought the Ansun branch leader."
Deep within the inner chamber, beyond the black curtain, was the Sect Leader of Hao Sect.
His figure was unseen, and even his voice was hidden; instead, a spokesperson beside him spoke in his stead.
"Jaseong, leader of Ansun branch of Hao Sect, pays respects to the Sect Leader."
Jaseong returned the cupped fist salute in formal greeting.
"Welcome. I have heard much of your feats. I heard that you entered the Dark Path Duel Banquet under the Hao Sect's name and won, then defeated the Three Souls Hall and a Demonic Cult hall master?"
"That is correct."
"Recently, I hear you went to the Murim Alliance. There, you fought the Namgung third son and emerged victorious, and established friendly relations with the Ice Palace Mistress of the North Sea. Your actions have been bold and swift indeed."
... They know everything about me.
But it was no surprise.
This was the core place where information from every Hao Sect branch was gathered.
It was only natural that Jaseong's every move was recorded in detail.
"In any case, thanks to your exploits, Hao Sect's prestige has climbed. Thus, in the name of the Sect Leader, we will grant you a fitting reward. Speak. What is it that you desire?"
Jaseong paused, catching his breath, and fell into thought.
The rewards the upper echelon of Hao Sect could grant were many in number.
Being the hub of information flowing through the Central Plains, massive wealth and secret manuals must be stacked here.
It was possible there were elixirs as extraordinary as Shaolin's supreme medicine.
But...
What Jaseong sought was not such ordinary rewards.
"Grant me permission to enter the Shadow Library."
"... What did you say?"
As if he had uttered the most forbidden phrase, the entire inner chamber was engulfed in silence.
A few among the twelve hall masters widened their eyes, and some shot Jaseong chilling, murderous glares.
Shadow Library (潛影祕閣).
It was the very heart of Hao Sect, dealing only in the highest-level classified information among their secrets.
Because it was such a highly confidential place, according to the rules, only leaders or above could enter.
But now, a mere branch leader was asking for entry, so the twelve hall masters naturally sharpened their gazes.
Again, the Sect Leader's spokesperson spoke.
"The Shadow Library is not a place that just anyone can enter. Only the Sect Leader and hall masters of Hao Sect have access. Why do you want to enter the Shadow Library?"
"The Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Clans. I need the information recorded on their hidden scandals and weaknesses."
"... Scandals and weaknesses? What do you intend to use those for...?"
"I intend to use them to create a rift in the martial world."
"......!"
"......!!"
With the bombshell Jaseong dropped, the air in the inner chamber became tense in an instant.
But this was precisely Jaseong's purpose for coming to Hao Sect's upper echelons.
The sixth Heaven's Mandate—create a schism in the martial world.
With the power of the Hao Sect's upper echelon, this immense Heaven's Mandate could be accomplished more easily.
'... Some information can be worth its weight in gold to the right person.
Some information can become a lifesaving treasure for others.
Some information, by pitting factions against each other, can unleash storms of blood within the martial world. That is the power of information...'
Of course, upon hearing Jaseong's words, some of the twelve hall masters gave dry laughs or looked at him with murderous eyes.
For a young branch leader who had just reached adulthood, his words were extremely audacious.
"Ansun branch leader. We've heard all about your feats and your renowned name, but to speak of entering the Shadow Library—you are still just a mere branch leader."
The Lord of the Five Dragons Hall among the twelve spoke.
He was a man with a dark face, a thick beard, and piercing eyes.
"And you think you can handle the consequences of disrupting the power structure of the factions in the martial world?"
"To speak of changing the balance and order of the martial world. Do you even understand what you're saying?"
He was echoed by the Lord of the Heavenly King King and the Lord of the Moonstar Hall in turn.
The Lord of the Heavenly King Hall possessed a giant build and a bear-like countenance.
The Lord of the Moonstar Hall had skin as pale as moonlight.
The other hall masters reacted similarly, mostly negatively.
They shook their heads, clicked their tongues, and ridiculed Jaseong's recklessness.
Yet Jaseong did not care.
He already had a strategy prepared to instantly overturn their negative reactions.
At that moment, he looked at the Sect Leader of Hao Sect, beyond the black curtain.
"I heard that Hao Sect's new goal is to step from the shadows into the light."
"......."
"If so, then it is only right that you support my plan to create a rift in the martial world."
With those words, the Sect Leader's shadow behind the curtain shifted slightly.
"What do you mean by that?"
"The more Hao Sect grows, the more the overlords of Central Plains will check and attack us. They won't want to lose the dominance they currently hold."
"......."
"So before stepping into the light, we must create rifts in the martial world. If the factions are busy checking one another, they won't have the time to check us."
"......."
"In other words, this is essential work for the greater cause of Hao Sect."
Once Jaseong finished speaking, the reactions of the twelve hall masters changed.
The Lords of Five Dragons Hall, Heavenly King Hall, and Moonstar Hall still frowned, but other hall masters gave approving looks, as if the plan made sense.
Jaseong's wits had changed the mood of the chamber with a few words.
In truth, he knew.
Recently, Hao Sect's upper echelons had been moving ever more openly,
and the overlords of Central Plains, who once looked down on Hao Sect, were now beginning to see them as a threat.
Thus, Jaseong's claim that "a rift must be opened in the martial world's powers" was highly rational.
But then—
"What is your true goal?"
A rough voice, as if scraping metal, reverberated through the chamber.
It was the Sect Leader of Hao Sect himself, speaking directly.
At the same time, the eyes of all twelve hall masters shot open wide.
For the Sect Leader to speak in his own voice instead of through a spokesperson was very rare.
"I ask again. State your true purpose in wanting to create a rift in the martial world."
The Sect Leader demanded, his voice metallic.
Simultaneously, an overwhelming energy spread from beyond the curtain.
Woooo—
It was energy as overwhelming as when he faced the Murim Alliance leader, Namgung Cheon-rui.
It was as if Jaseong was being tested.
Standing before it, Jaseong hesitated for a moment, then decided to answer honestly.
'At any rate, the Hao Sect upper echelon probably already knows everything about me.'
At last, Jaseong spoke slowly.
"I believe you are all aware of my origins."
"......."
"I became a branch leader after defeating bandits in the Red Light District and being acknowledged for my abilities by the Lord of Black Blood Hall."
"......."
"My eldest brother was called the fool of the Red Light District, and my sister-in-law was a courtesan. I was a junior guard."
"......."
"I never had grand ambitions in the martial world. If I could just eat three meals a day with my family and laugh together, that was enough. But... the Righteous Faction and Demonic Cult appeared in the Red Light District of Ansun, and because of them, I lost my entire family."
As he recited each word, the faces of his eldest brother and sister-in-law flitted before Jaseong's eyes.
—Young master, if being a junior guard is too hard, just rest at home. My husband and I can easily support one young master.
—Yeah, Jaseong. If it's hard, just rest, alright?
Recalling those dearly missed faces he could never see again, Jaseong's eyes were filled with dark venom.
"I have enemies I must see destroyed. And all those enemies are backed by powerful forces."
"......."
"That's why I seek to cause rifts among them—so that I can hunt them more easily."
"......!"
When Jaseong finished, the inner chamber fell so silent that you could hear a mouse.
Then, after a moment...
Heh—
A laugh rang out from behind the black curtain where the Sect Leader of Hao Sect sat.
"You have, just as the guardian general said, a most fascinating gaze."
"......."
"Yes. Revenge... is the greatest driving force for human growth."
Smiling contentedly, the Sect Leader of Hao Sect gave instructions to the guardian general Gal Seo-ryeong.
"Guardian general. Grant Ansun branch leader's wish."
"You mean...?"
"Open the Shadow Library(潛影祕閣) for him."
"......!"
At the Sect Leader's unprecedented command, the twelve hall masters all wore different expressions.
Some had eyes flashing, some were surprised, some eyed him warily, others watched with deep interest.
Jaseong met those gazes calmly, taking a deep breath.
'With this, the first step toward creating a schism in the martial world is set.'
A new wind was blowing through Hao Sect.
And in the martial world, a massive upheaval loomed.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
End of First Season...
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】