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“Looks like we’ve returned to Jangryeong Valley with some news!”

After returning with my crew, I shared the details with Mangnyang and Zhuge Sa. Surprisingly, Zhuge Sa was pretty chill about it.

“Good job. This means we won’t have any human sacrifices for a while.”

“Wait, is that really it?” I thought to myself, feeling a bit anxious since Zhuge Sa didn’t mention the Nameless Ritual Book at all. Just then, Lee Cheong-un chimed in.

“Zhuge Sa, you already knew the Nameless Ritual Book was gone, right?”

“…?!”

Wait, what?! I looked at Lee Cheong-un in shock as he continued,

“Someone as meticulous and paranoid as you wouldn’t just let the Nameless Ritual Book disappear without a trace.”

“…”

“Plus, you’ve been keeping an eye on Zhuge Bu’s senses using Yin-Yang Heaven Bug, haven’t you? I suspect you were already aware of the changes happening in the Inner Imperial Pavilion.”

At this, Zhuge Sa just smirked.

“You’ve certainly got a sharp mind, are you an expert in the Thunder God Lineage?”

It was a strange praise. I turned to Zhuge Sa.“So you knew about the thief grabbing the Nameless Ritual Book, right? Are you serious?”

“Yeah, I knew.”

Frustration bubbled inside me. “Dammit, you should have told me back then…”

“If you told me, then we could have moved together, taken out Zhuge Bu, snatched the Nameless Ritual Book, and even grabbed the Crystal Stele altogether. It would have been the perfect score against the Imperial Palace!”

Zhuge Sa replied nonchalantly, cracking his fingers.

“But, that would also mean the shadows of the Imperial Palace, particularly Zhuge Yulong, would start taking extreme measures to guard against a third force.”

“…!!”

“And without solid ways to eliminate Zhuge Yulong’s presence, you’re raising the difficulty level of your reincarnation!”

“The gods watching over the Demon Subduing Hall are likely to get involved, and we might even see the Apostle Daji descending too. Ultimately, it would just throw us into the same chaos as before, wouldn’t it?”

Mangnyang, who had been listening, grimaced and said,

“Uncle has been monitoring Zhuge Bu’s five senses since you received the Obsidian. He even notified me when Zhuge Bu moved the Nameless Ritual Book. But according to him, it wasn’t the right time to act, so he didn’t bother to tell you.”

“……”

Was that how it was?

I looked at Zhuge Sa in panic as he added,

“Hey, you do remember your last life, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“Baek Woong, you stomped all over the Imperial Palace. Am I wrong? You summoned King Mi-hu, took out Zhuge Yulong in Mount Tai, and wiped out places with replicates. You eliminated not just Zhuge Bu but took the National Seal and Nameless Ritual Book too, didn’t you?”

Realization hit me.

“So despite Zhuge Yulong surviving, there was no way he could recover with you doing all that. If I were in your shoes, I would have either given up or run away, but he kept coming back!”

“Exactly. He made it to some strange form where he stood in our way till the end, despite logically losing. Don’t you think you could keep fighting even when the world was collapsing?”

“…”

“Let’s face it, we lost to Zhuge Yulong. If we fought longer, we would’ve lost general control. So I can’t blame you for wanting to destroy the Heavenly Altar.”

Thinking back on it was nerve-wracking.

‘Damn, that relentless guy…’

I shivered, recalling Zhuge Yulong’s tenacity. I thought I had wiped out the Imperial Palace for good, but it turned out he was the major hurdle. As I pondered, Mangnyang spoke up.

“Baek Woong. We may seem like we can wipe out the Imperial Palace’s head power at once, but really we can’t simultaneously suppress Zhuge Yulong, extract his soul, and seal it away in the Celestial Realm while cutting off the forces behind the Demon Subduing Hall.”

“That makes sense.”

“This isn’t a lost cause. While we’re managing Zhuge Yulong’s actions, we’re also focusing on lowering his alert levels.”

I was baffled. What did he mean? I gave Mangnyang a confused look as Zhuge Sa responded with a tone of disbelief.

“Are you telling me you’ve deliberately given him time and room to prepare?”

Lee Cheong-un then said,

“I see! You’ve subtly leaked information about your target to the Imperial Palace!”

“Wha-what?!” I was taken aback. There was no way Zhuge Sa and Mangnyang would leak our information!

“Are you saying the Nameless Ritual Book’s relocation, the Xuanwu and White Tiger’s retreat to the Imperial Palace, and Zhuge Bu being absent were all on your orders?”

With a sly grin, Zhuge Sa replied,

“Of course, it was all our doing! We used the Bancheon Alliance and others to manipulate the situation. I doubt there are any key figures left at the Great Dragon Hall, meaning the Emperor and Alchemist would be safe.”

“What the hell!! Isn’t it better to eliminate the enemy when you can?” I was pounding my chest in frustration.

“Calm down, Baek Woong. This is how you use information wisely.”

“What do you mean?”

“In this situation, the Imperial Palace would think they’ve successfully defended against our attack, likely believing they’ve saved important figures and treasures. So Zhuge Yulong wouldn’t go out of his way to summon any gods or apostles.”

“Oh!!”

“Exactly. If he believes he can handle things on his own, he won’t rush to extreme measures.”

Lee Cheong-un’s logic made sense.

I nodded, and Zhuge Sa, with a tone of disbelief said,

“Wow…Our lord isn’t improving at all in strategizing, huh?”

“Hey, you kept that from me!”

“Speaking of which, I guess Lee Cheong-un figured out our intentions when the Nameless Ritual Book disappeared. He’s a thousand-year grandmaster, after all, so I wouldn’t doubt his intelligence!”

“……”

“Work that brain of yours! You could use it to enhance your mind technique.”

With no words left, I fell silent, and Mangnyang spoke up,

“Baek Woong. Don’t worry too much. Even if our strike seems like a failure on the surface, Zhuge Sa can still control or eliminate Zhuge Yulong through the Yin-Yang Heaven Bug at any moment.”

“I see…”

Finally, I felt somewhat reassured. Zhuge Sa and Mangnyang were indeed planning their countermeasures like the geniuses from the Zhuge clan. Suddenly, I remembered something and asked,

“Wait a sec… I blew up five of Zhuge Yulong’s storage vaults, right? Isn’t that going to spike his trust issues?”

“I knew you’d bring that up.”

Zhuge Sa chuckled and replied,

“We’re basically hitting the ‘defense in the dark’ idea.”

“…What does that even mean?”

“The places I attacked—Great Dragon Hall, Golden Eagle Guard, Inner Imperial Pavilion, and the Azure Dragon Martial Arts School—were all part of our ‘leaked’ information. But if we only hit them according to our intel, it wouldn’t really set back Zhuge Yulong’s plans. Eliminating minions is great, but it doesn’t count as hitting the core, does it?”

Continuing, Zhuge Sa said, “I know my brother, Zhuge Yulong. Even if he’s taken a big hit, he’ll analyze his worst-case scenarios calmly. If he doesn’t see something disastrous unfolding, he won’t panic and rush into action.”

“What you’re saying is…”

“As you know, Zhuge Yulong can’t be taken down just by blowing up those five storage vaults. He’s definitely hiding another body somewhere that no one knows about.”

“…I get it.”

That’s precisely why it’s been so tough taking out the Vermilion Bird. I nodded in agreement as Zhuge Sa said,

“So he won’t elevate his alert levels unnecessarily. He won’t suddenly call upon gods or apostles since he thinks he isn’t in a dire situation. Are you following me?”

“So his defense level won’t peak?”

“You can count on it. The way I see it, this is our best counter-strategy. Just as Hyun said, we have another five years at least. We’ve penetrated Zhuge Yulong’s defenses.”

“Phew…”

I sighed with relief as Zhuge Sa smirked.

“This is also to keep you focused on your training.”

“Huh?”

“We’ll handle the nuances of adjusting defense levels, so just concentrate on raising your martial arts and techniques. That’s why we’re here.”

“…Understood.”

As I stated this, Lee Cheong-un turned to Zhuge Sa, looking a bit worried.

“But Zhuge Sa, we still haven’t gotten our hands on the Crystal Stele. Isn’t that pretty risky? If the Alchemist uses the Nameless Ritual Book to amplify its powers, we could see a strong demon creature in no time.”

“I’m well aware of that. That’s why I didn’t want to put pressure on our clueless lord to retrieve the Crystal Stele just yet.”

Zhuge Sa responded bluntly, continuing,

“It’d be great to have the Crystal Stele, but we need to gather more intel because there’s something we still don’t know.”

“What type of intel?”

“The Portrait Immortal with white hair.”

Zhuge Sa crossed his arms.

“There was a prophecy from Baek Woong that the little guy could become the Bishop of Nine Lotus Sect or a major threat in the future. But then I realized even I couldn’t create a Portrait Immortal with white hair no matter how hard I tried in my last life.”

“Oh, right…”

I recalled Zhuge Sa once bragging about how he made different kinds of Portrait Immortals with the Crystal Stele, although they were usually stunning beauties. But he once grumbled that he couldn’t create one with white hair.

“We don’t know anything about him. Basically, we’re clueless about the true nature of the Nine Lotus Sect that will appear in the future.”

“So you suspect the white-haired Portrait Immortal was made from a super-rare process or something that even the Western Grand Sorcerer can only produce a couple of times?”

“And even if the process is unique, there must be some records. So it’s likely that there’s a super-rare material crucial for creating the white-haired Portrait Immortal.”

“Super-rare material…”

“At this point, even if we steal the Crystal Stele, it won’t help us find out about that. We have no idea how that white-haired Portrait Immortal is made or what his significance is! But right now, Zhuge Bu is constantly in contact with the Alchemist for mass production of Portrait Immortals.”

I finally grasped what Zhuge Sa meant.

“So while keeping tabs on Zhuge Bu, we’ll naturally gather intel from the Alchemist?”

“Precisely. Once we get what we need, we’ll devise a plan to snatch it.”

“But can’t we just kidnap that Alchemist directly?”

When I raised my concern, Mangnyang shook his head.

“Not at all, Baek Woong. That Alchemist is a renowned Grand Sorcerer from the West. The only time we’ve captured him was that one time you faced him one-on-one. Even then, he underestimated you, but capturing him is nearly impossible!”

“Hmm…”

“If someone as skilled as Zhuge Sa says so, I believe it.”

When I silently agreed, Zhuge Sa stated,

“Either way, we plan to maintain our current condition for at least a year. Up to three years if we can. So focus on your training. As for the slaves, Mangnyang and I will handle it through General Hwang Yeon’s connections and the Bancheon Alliance.”

“Got it.”

I then distanced myself from Zhuge Sa and Mangnyang, taking Miho to Dongyoung.

“Catch you later…”

But just as I was about to leave the Heavenly Emperor’s Palace…

“……?”

Something felt off.

What was this sensation?

I felt an intense, unpleasant chill running down my skin, and for some reason, my palms were sweating profusely. My body was slowly tightening up, as if I was feeling a sense of tension.

A moment later, I realized what this sensation was.

Sinister energy!

It didn’t feel like killing intent, but it was so subtle that an average person couldn’t detect it. Heck, even those who had mastered martial arts would miss it unless they were on high alert. I managed to sense it after training under the peak expert Lee Cheong-un for so long, sharpening my instincts.

In simpler terms, even a peak expert wouldn’t have sensed this concealed aura.

Recognizing that whoever released this energy was formidable, my anxiety shot up. I stood before Miho, pulling my sword as I spoke,

“Miho, do you feel that?”

Miho, quick on the uptake, grasped my question but responded nervously.

“What… what do you mean? Is something there?”

This kind of panic indicated that, logically, she understood but could not physically detect the energy. The Great Demon Miho was outdone by a skilled practitioner. I gathered my energy, shouting,

“Whoever you are, come out right now! If not, I’ll consider you an enemy!”

Suddenly…

The moment I said this, the darkness coalesced, forming the distinct shape of a person. Within moments, a figure shrouded in thick, dark energy knelt before me, three paces away.

“An incredible master… Never before had I encountered someone who could sense the presence of my stealth in Dongyoung. This is my first time seeing someone like you.”

The voice dripped with shadows.

The figure glinted with dark apparel tinged with blue. They had throwing stars sheathed in their armor, and instantly, I recognized them.

“A ninja?”

They nodded slowly, saying, “Fuma Kotaro, leader of the Fuma Clan.”

The Fuma Clan was the third strongest ninja organization in Dongyoung, right after Iga and Kouga. This stealth was far beyond what I had sensed in my peak expert days; it was a whole new level. If I hadn’t honed my instincts, I’d have missed them entirely!

“You’re here to assassinate her?”

“Not at all… I was merely assigned to monitor the Empress and report on her actions.”

As the ninja known as Fuma Kotaro spoke, his red eyes briefly flashed.

“However, I didn’t expect a master of your caliber to be around. How did you detect my full-powered stealth? We, the Fuma Clan, will withdraw from this operation.”

“What? Who put you on this watching assignment?”

He chuckled, crossing his arms, and replied, “Oh, ninjas wouldn’t casually share, you know?”

With a grin, he added, “But if you offer us some platinum, I might consider sharing who the client was.”

“Huh?”

“Empress. What I’m implying is, you should hire our Fuma Clan.”

In the end, it turned out he showed up just to ask for money.

So that’s why he revealed his identity…

Was he leveraging his status as the Fuma Clan leader to earn easy cash? Surely, it’s only a matter of time before his identity is revealed by Kouga, hence he might as well own it now. While I pondered my options, Miho unexpectedly shouted.

“Get lost! You’re not going to pull any tricks with us!”

“I won’t lie, as long as I don’t expect too much, I’ll be satisfied with just as much as Kouga got.”

It seemed he genuinely only wanted some platinum. After a moment of thought, I said,

“So you’re truly ready to share your client’s name?”

Fuma Kotaro responded eagerly,

“Of course… Just hand over the cash. We Fuma Clan are in need!”

“Miho, let’s just give it to him. It’s a cheap price to pay for more intel about the backers…”

Suddenly, Miho shouted in my head with a sharp mental voice,

[You fool! I’m aware! But we were waiting to bargain first!]

“……”

So that’s what was happening?!

After some back-and-forth between Miho and Fuma, we finally settled on four pieces of platinum after quite a bit of haggling. When Miho tossed the platinum to Fuma, he knelt before her and stated,

“The client who hired us from the Fuma Clan is from the Bancheon Alliance among the Thirteen Joules. Their leader contracted me.”

“Why them?”

“The Bancheon Alliance is deeply interested in expanding into Dongyoung. Therefore, they want to gather intel on the Empress, who has been making the biggest moves lately.”

So that’s how it was.

Feeling relieved, I sighed,

“But still, can they just disclose all that information so easily?”

“They didn’t pay us up front! Plus, they haven’t settled previous payments with us that are long overdue. So a lot of hungry kids in the village are suffering because of it.”

Fuma Kotaro confessed brazenly.

“Whoever pays is the master of the ninja! Hail the Empress!”

“……”

So the delayed payments led him to switch loyalties!

Miho noted, “Baek Woong. This means I can navigate Dongyoung much easier now. I can control two powerful ninja forces, so I’m practically safe from the Yin-Yang Master!”

“Glad to hear it.”

“Hmm, with this chance, should I take a stab at the Shogunate?”

Miho’s sinister smile blurred the lines between sincerity and jest.

With that, I returned to Jangryeong Valley to meet Lee Cheong-un. After relaying what just went down, he found it intriguing.

“I see… It seems you’re gradually reaching the level where you can control your senses with ease. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have detected an elite ninja’s stealth.”

“Seventh sense?”

“The sixth sense is, as you know, a common skill among peak masters, while the seventh one surpasses the sixth, dealing with transcendental perceptions… It’s the pillar of intent.”

As he muttered, Lee Cheong-un paused in thought.

“Baek Woong, it’s time. You need to head to Dragon King’s Valley.”

“What’s the rush?”

With a grin, Lee Cheong-un replied, “It’s time to claim the Thunder Sword!”

 

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