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Little Yama Gu Yangcheon

In the remote outskirts of Mount Shan, Gu Yangcheon, the eldest son of the reputable Gu Clan, found himself entangled in the legacy of Gu Cheolun, a renowned tiger warrior beneath the White-Grade Masters.

In his childhood, he was known as the Mount Shan’s reckless kid, causing havoc and earning the disdainful titles of a troublemaker.

However, as time passed, it seemed as if this wild behavior gave way to the dawn of his potential.

Prior to the massacre at Shinryong Temple, he showcased his overwhelming power at the Dragon Meeting, earning him the moniker “Jin Ryong” or True Dragon.

Shortly after, he thwarted the massacre at Shinryong Temple, exterminating the Demonic Faction members and acquiring the title “So Yeomra.”

Following various internal plans by the alliance, his name momentarily spread throughout the Central Plains, but…

Soon enough, his whereabouts became shrouded in mystery.

Moreover, due to the secretive “Shinryong Plan” he collaborated on with the Shaolin, the rumors he had previously inflated quickly vanished into thin air.

“What could it be?”

Beomdong tilted his head while holding the letter in his hand.

It took him four days to comprehend this information.

It wasn’t particularly hard to gather, and had it been pursued, it could have been wrapped up in two days.

But for some odd reason, Beomdong felt a peculiar sense of discomfort.

“There’s more than one weird thing here.”

As he delved deeper into Gu Yangcheon’s information, he noticed several conspicuous gaps.

It was evident that someone had intentionally erased these details.

“Who could it be?”

There were only a handful of individuals capable of tampering with the alliance’s information.

They could either be the Hoi of the current alliance leader or perhaps the leaders from the Beggar Clan or Shaolin.

Surely, it wouldn’t exceed ten individuals.

Yet, why would they leave such holes in this information?

That wasn’t the only peculiarity.

“Did he get involved in the Sichuan Tang Gate incident too?”

It was a major spectacle that had caused quite a stir in the Central Plains years ago.

The revelation that the esteemed Tang Clan was engaged in human experimentation unbeknownst to anyone had led them to drop from the ranks of the Four Great Clans, resulting in a more secretive nature regarding the clan.

The problem here was…

“Top secret information, huh?”

The incidents back then were treated as classified even within the alliance, categorized by color like the ranks of demon beasts.

Among these, the event ignited by the Sichuan Tang Gate was classified as “White” information.

Even the alliance’s lord, who had access to most of the intelligence department, couldn’t unlock it.

Yet, within that classified data, “evidence of So Yeomra’s involvement…”

The processed intelligence claimed that the head of the Tang Clan had exposed the human experimentation after understanding it, directly assassinating several elders and submitting the evidence to the alliance…

The connection of So Yeomra to this information suggested…

“Does this imply something else was going on?”

What could possibly have transpired to elude even the lord’s understanding?

Beomdong continued to examine the information with a frown.

“So many women around. The fiancée, Sword Dance Hero, and Tang Clan… the Tang Clan?”

His eyes widened as he read further.

Among them was Poison Phoenix, who was walking the path of decline.

And Moyong Family’s Seolbong…

“Wait, and even the Sword Sovereign’s successor?!”

It seemed he was indeed drawn to female beauty.

However, a curious point arose.

“If he’s drawn to female beauty, why hasn’t he approached Bi-hyeonhwa?”

Revered as the most beautiful woman in Hanam, Bi-hyeonhwa had an outstanding reputation for obtaining information using her looks.

“Seems like a failure.”

Not only did he fail to make an approach, but Bi-hyeonhwa returned a complete wreck.

“Please…save me. P-please help me, help me, help…”

Her heavily painted face had crumbled, and she constantly scratched at her own face with elongated, sharp nails.

With the eyes of a deceased fish, she was found in a back alley, broken and disturbed.

“I need to escape… I’m scared, scared… please help me… please…”

Her shivering, ruined state was enough to instill terror in others.

Later, she was handed over to a physician for treatment, but her mind never returned to clarity.

Even now, paralyzed by fear, she wouldn’t leave the treatment room.

What on earth had she experienced?

Based on the notes Bi-hyeonhwa had gathered, she had written about So Yeomra, mentioning the name “Parche Leaf” and rumors about the collapsing faction leader.

“That was a lie.”

As he dug deeper, he realized that all of this info was fabricated.

It would be fair to assume that she had sniffed out her actual purpose beforehand.

Thanks to this, he was forced to spend more time than expected extracting information.

Moreover…

“There are no traces.”

If she was found at the entrance, someone must have been close enough to approach her.

However, none of the sentinels on guard had sensed any movement or presence.

There was no evidence.

Bi-hyeonhwa was so damaged that she couldn’t respond to inquiries, making the situation exceedingly strange.

“Not to mention the incident that occurred in between.”

While Beomdong was busy with his work, news from the Blue Dragon sect reported that one of their members had gone missing, a particularly unfortunate timing.

Here lies the problem.

“Is it that Baekhwa Sect again?”

The Baekhwa Sect, which was gathering enough personnel to form a single faction.

Finding this suspicious, the alliance sent members from the Blue Dragon sect to gather intel, only for that member to disappear as well.

The most elite martial artist of the alliance gone without a trace!

In just a few days, the situation seemed to have become intricately tangled.

And at the center of it all was…

“So Yeomra?”

The Demonic Sect, they called them.

Recently, a name had been echoing through Hanam and the entire Central Plains.

It had spread from the farthest edges of the Central Plains, now reaching the stronghold of Hanam.

The alliance was focusing its efforts on tracking it down, and Beomdong was researching in the meantime.

In this midst, the current movement of the Baekhwa Sect was inevitably suspicious.

“There doesn’t seem to be a direct connection, but something feels off.”

The Baekhwa Sect, one of the top-tier factions in the Central Plains.

Even if they weren’t directly opposing the Martial Alliance, they wouldn’t likely partake in pointless actions.

“However, their recent activities have certain peculiarities.”

The possibility of operating clandestinely without the alliance’s knowledge was concerning, especially after identifying the young master he had encountered as So Yeomra.

Years ago, he was rumored to be a promising talent, a recognized youngest Transformation Realm Martial Artist before Jin Ryong, becoming a figure whispered about.

Additionally, the most crucial reason was…

“He’s from the Gu Clan!”

The Gu Clan, a reputable family situated in the outskirts of Mount Shan.

Once part of the Four Great Clans… No, they weren’t at the level of the Three Great Clans, but they held a decent standing in the noble circles.

They had been known to exist for centuries, but only began to truly shine when the current clan leader, a tiger warrior, began to rise.

Since then, his daughter, Sword Phoenix Gu Huibi, and eldest son So Yeomra, along with their youngest sibling Gu Yeonseo, had sparked the perception that the Gu Clan was indeed formidable.

However…

Due to their reputation as the “Gu Clan,” Beomdong felt an unsettling aura.

The reason was nothing less than…

“Dark Color information…?”

Among the levels of information ranging from green to white, the classification regarding the Gu Clan was marked as dark.

It seemed there had been recent changes in information, but even Beomdong didn’t understand what dark could signify.

He couldn’t even attempt to access it; dark was meant to remain elusive.

It was a grade he had never encountered before, and it just so happened to be linked with the Gu Clan.

While other great houses barely managed to reach the red level, this dark classification bewildered him.

Something was undeniably odd.

The unspeakable energy falling at the Baekhwa Sect’s domain, along with his fateful encounter with So Yeomra and the disparaging treatment he received afterwards, compounded the mysteries building up around him.

“In this case…”

Beomdong thought of the two means he had operated on so far.

The first was…

“Build up more personnel to gather detailed information.”

To meticulously track every move and seize opportunities, yet.

“It’s a bit challenging at present.”

Given the alliance’s precarious situation with the Martial Arts Tournament just around the corner and the necessity of dealing with the Demonic Sect, he couldn’t act independently.

Even if he wanted to sneak into the Baekhwa Sect’s territory for information, that would be tricky given their own substantial resources.

In that case,

“Then there’s only the second option left.”

It seemed there was only one method to pursue now.

To go directly.

If the sneaky ways weren’t yielding, then he ought to seek out answers openly.

“A bit of justification seems lacking though.”

If there was no justification, he could just create one.

The alliance’s intelligence division was just that sort of place.

“Besides, no matter how strong he is, he’s just a young lad who’s barely past the edge of adulthood. Dealing with him shouldn’t be difficult.”

Though his strength was unexpectedly alarming…

At the end of the day, he was still a youth.

No matter how powerful, there was no way he could expose himself to the Martial Alliance.

Moreover…

“Looks like he has plenty to protect.”

With close ties to those women around him, it should provide ample opportunity to tug at his strings.

Thus, until the right moment for investigation arose, he needed to maintain a low profile.

With these thoughts, Beomdong turned to look behind him and spoke.

 

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