Chapter 187
Lee Rin and Gu Janghu were left speechless at the sight of Jaseong's gift.
The Snow Ginseng of a thousand years and the Ten-thousand-year Spiritual Ganoderma.
These were elixirs they'd only ever heard of in legends.
And to think that these had been obtained at the cost of several years' worth of the Tianxia Association's profits—an astronomical sum.
"Great hero... Why would you suddenly give us such precious things...?"
Lee Rin stammered in shock.
Though she was the Little Palace Lord of the North Sea Ice Palace and had seen many elixirs, this level of elixir was considered a treasured heirloom even in the Ice Palace.
Jaseong looked at the two and spoke calmly.
"During this time, Lee Rin and Gu Janghu, you two have grown very strong. You reached the peak realm and have steadfastly protected my side."
Jaseong's gaze deepened.
"But the battles ahead will be of a completely different order than any we've faced so far. We must fight not only the orthodox Murim Alliance, but the Demonic Cult as well. They are giants who have ruled the Central Plains for hundreds of years."
"......!"
"The full-scale battle with the Murim Alliance is right around the corner. To survive that conflict, and to help me cut down the great evils, you must become even stronger. You must transcend the peak and reach the realm of the supreme peak."
"Still... great hero, isn't this too expensive? Several years' profits of the Tianxia Association... With that kind of money, we could raise an army..."
Lee Rin said in a dazed voice.
Jaseong gave a faint smile.
"We can always earn money again. So don't worry about it."
"......!"
Gu Janghu's shoulders trembled.
Before meeting Jaseong, he had spent his life as an assassin, always treated as a mere tool.
To him, a lord like this was a first.
Gu Janghu bowed his head deeply, his eyes brimming with emotion.
"Sect Leader... I will never forget this grace. Until my dying day, I shall be your sword and clear your path."
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Jaseong stood up.
"Save your gratitude for later. For now, what matters is to become stronger."
He started walking toward the door.
"Absorb them at once. I'll help guide your ki. Right Protector Gal Seo-ryeong will be on standby."
* * *
And so, Jaseong's group entered the underground training chamber beneath Black Union City.
Lee Rin and Gu Janghu sat cross-legged facing each other.
In front of them were a Blood Jade Pill and a Breaking Barrier Pill, radiating a brilliant glow.
Jaseong and Gal Seo-ryeong took their places behind them.
They stood ready, in case anything happened, to help guide their ki and prevent ki deviation.
"Are you both ready?"
At Jaseong's question, the two nodded solemnly.
"We'll begin."
At Jaseong's signal, the two simultaneously placed the pills in their mouths.
Gulp.
The moment the pills went down their throats—
Uuuuuuuung!
The air in the chamber vibrated wildly.
It was as if a volcano was erupting inside their bellies, as an immense surge of spiritual ki poured into their bodies.
"Kuugh...!"
Gu Janghu groaned in pain.
All the veins across his body bulged as his skin turned crimson.
The intense energy of the Breaking Barrier Pill was forcefully breaking through his blocked blood channels.
"Ugh..."
Lee Rin also gritted her teeth and endured.
The energy from the Blood Jade Pill set her blood to a boil.
Within her body, imbued with cold ice arts, the sudden surge of heat collided and generated tremendous resistance.
"Focus."
Jaseong placed his hand on Gu Janghu's back.
The golden internal power of the Heaven Evading Celestial Formula flowed into Gu Janghu's body, suppressing the rampaging energy of the Breaking Barrier Pill and guiding it along the correct path.
Gal Seo-ryeong also placed her palm on Lee Rin's back, infusing her with her own seasoned ki.
Her experienced ki blended harmoniously with Lee Rin's ice arts, spreading the Blood Jade Pill's effects throughout her body.
"Slowly, don't hurry. Gather the energy into your dantian. Don't let it scatter."
Jaseong's calm yet powerful voice resonated throughout the chamber.
To the two struggling in agony, that voice was like a beacon in the night.
Time passed.
One shijin, two, three...
The heat and energy radiating from their bodies grew stronger with each passing moment.
Their clothes were drenched with sweat, and black blood trickled from their lips.
It was the process of impurities being purged from their bodies.
And finally—
Paaaaang!
A brilliant blue light burst forth from Lee Rin's body.
The temperature in the chamber dropped sharply as frost formed on the floor and walls.
Lee Rin's transformation was astonishing.
She, who had consumed so many elixirs since childhood in the North Sea Ice Palace that her internal energy had nearly reached two sixty-year cycles, suddenly saw it soar to three sixty-year cycles.
Thanks to that, her realm had finally reached the supreme peak.
Immediately after, a great roar and burst of radiance exploded from Gu Janghu's body.
Kwaaaaang!
The red energy enveloping him erupted outward.
A cracking sound came from all over his body as every tiny, blocked capillary burst open, perfecting the circulation of his ki.
His eyes snapped open.
A chilling light shone from within.
He too crossed the threshold into the supreme peak realm.
"Hoo..."
Jaseong and Gal Seo-ryeong simultaneously withdrew their hands, letting out sighs of relief.
It was a success.
Gu Janghu looked down at his own hands.
Unimaginable strength surged through his entire body.
"The world... It feels different. I can sense the flow of air, even the movement of dust... Everything is clear."
Gu Janghu's voice trembled with awe.
Lee Rin also hugged herself, overwhelmed.
The cold, swirling True Ice Ki within her body now felt like a boundless ocean.
"Great hero... With this strength, I won't be a burden to you anymore."
Lee Rin smiled as she looked at Jaseong.
Her smile was as breathtaking as North Sea snowflowers.
* * *
A few days later.
The deepest chamber in Black Union City, within the chief's office.
Moonlight shone through the window, illuminating a map spread across the desk.
Jaseong's gaze was fixed on the red dot marking Wuhan in Hubei Province.
"Chief."
Just then, a voice both aged and powerful sounded from outside the door.
"Come in."
The door opened and an old man with snow-white hair entered.
He leaned on a cane, but his posture was upright and his gaze sharp.
This was Cheon Gi-ja, the chief strategist of the Evil Path Association.
He had witnessed the rise and fall of the association for decades, assisting successive chiefs—a living legend among the unorthodox faction.
Cheon Gi-ja bowed deeply to Jaseong.
"I bring a report. The Murim Alliance has made its move."
"Speak."
"The Murim Lord, Namgung Cheon-rui, has gathered the forces of the Nine Sects-One Union and the Five Great Clans in Wuhan. Their numbers are said to exceed twenty thousand."
Worry tinged Cheon Gi-ja's voice.
"They are using the pretext of 'purging the unorthodox' and are preparing for total war."
Jaseong nodded blandly.
"As expected. It's about time Namgung Cheon-rui drew his sword."
"What are your orders? Should we prepare to defend the city, or...?"
"No."
Jaseong rose from his seat.
Overwhelming, tyrannical energy radiated from his whole body.
"Summon all sects of the Evil Path Association. We too will meet them in all-out war."
At Jaseong's pronouncement, Cheon Gi-ja saluted with a cupped fist and withdrew.
So, a few days later,
In the vast plain outside Black Union City—
Normally, only desolate winds would sweep the area, but now an ocean of black had overtaken the land.
They were the masses of the unorthodox faction, drawn from all over the Central Plains.
Though they carried disparate banners and wore different clothes, the murderous intent they exuded was equally fierce and chilling.
Dudududu—!
With the sound of trembling earth, the leaders of the unorthodox sects began to appear, one after another.
The first to arrive was the Black Star Sect.
"Arriving—the Sect Leader of Black Star Sect, Heavenly Black Sword Venerable!"
Heavenly Black Sword Venerable strode forward, his black robe billowing behind him.
His gaze was colder than the perennial snow of the North Sea, and a chilly Sword Ki flowed from his body, icing the air around him.
The five hundred Black Star Sect swordsmen following him moved with military precision.
Every one of their sword tips gleamed sharply.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
With each resounding step, a huge shadow loomed.
"Arriving—the Clan Head of the Twin Dragon Clan, Myriad-Hand Fist Emperor!"
Myriad-Hand Fist Emperor appeared, his massive frame shaking the earth with every step.
His bulging muscles looked as if they would tear through steel plate.
An overwhelming sense of authority radiated from him.
Behind him stood Kang Ryong, the Third Young Master of the Twin Dragon Clan, who had once built ties with Jaseong.
"Arriving—the Sect Leader of the Blood King Sect, Blood King Legion!"
The Blood King Legion, clad in red robes, appeared wielding a bloodstained scythe.
A maniacal grin twisted his lips, and the warriors behind him resembled fiends crawled up from hell.
Swish—
With no sound at all, shadows flickered as a group in black clothes appeared.
"Arriving—the Shadow Pavilion Lord, gucheon Amyeong!"
They melted silently into the ranks.
Their stealth arts, erasing their presence in the shadows, sent chills down the spines of those who caught even the faintest glimpse.
"Arriving—the Thousand Kill Sect Leader, Killingsword Demon!"
Killingsword Demon radiated murderous red intent as he moved.
So intense was his killing intent that the grass withered in his wake.
His subordinates, too, glared like mad dogs addicted to slaughter.
"Arriving—the Allied Rings Sect Master, Twelfth Linked Rings!"
Twelfth Linked Rings glided forth with a bewitching presence, a whip coiled around her waist.
Her eyes brimmed with lethal intent, and her red lips resembled a dangerous, venomous flower.
"Arriving—the Clan Head of the White Bone Clan, White Bone Spirit Monarch!"
Uuuuuung—
With a weird, eerie sound of wind, White Bone Spirit Monarch appeared wearing a white bone mask.
The warriors behind him, with pallid skin and vacant stares, were reminiscent of a jiangshi army.
Besides them, all the Four Great Clans and Seven Sects—the very pillars of the Evil Path Association—had gathered.
Medium and small unorthodox sects affiliated with the Evil Path Association had also joined.
Their might was truly overwhelming.
Murderous and competitive energy that seemed to reach the sky filled the area before Black Union City.
Jaseong stood upon the platform, gazing down at them.
By his side stood Lee Rin, Gu Janghu, Gal Seo-ryeong, and Hyang-I.
"Welcome, everyone."
Jaseong used Lion's Roar, spreading his voice across the entire plain.
At that deep, resonant sound, the Myriad-Hand Fist Emperor of the Twin Dragon Clan laughed heartily and stepped forward.
"Kahahaha! This is the day we've all been waiting for! Chief, our Twin Dragon Clan's eight hundred boxers are ready for battle. We're set to grind their bones to dust!"
The King of Ten Thousand Poisons chimed in with a sinister voice, wearing a prosthetic hand where his lost arm had been.
"The Thousand Snake Formation and Poison Valley elites number five hundred, standing ready. We'll let those orthodox cowards taste the terror of bone-dissolving poison."
Killingsword Demon caressed his sword and grinned chillingly.
"The Blood Demon Squad of Thousand Kill Gate—six hundred strong—are ready to deploy at any moment. My blade is crying out for blood."
The Shadow Pavilion Lord spoke from the darkness of the shadows.
"Three hundred assassins from Shadow Pavilion. Beheading the orthodox is our specialty."
The leader of the Allied Rings Sect, Twelfth Linked Rings, seductively swept her hair back.
"Our Sword Dance Troupe of four hundred is ready as well."
Cheon Gi-ja, the chief strategist, reported to Jaseong.
"I report: Just among the elite martial artists of the Evil Path Association gathered here, we number five thousand. Add the Tianxia Association, the black path men from Guangxi Province, and the warriors of the Hao Sect under your direct command, and... our total force reaches ten thousand. This is the Evil Path Association's largest force since its founding."
As he listened to Cheon Gi-ja's report, Jaseong silently nodded.
'Now, the time has come to change the balance of the jianghu.'
The moment to fulfill revenge and Heaven's Mandate, both at once.