The news that the people of the Sichuan Tang Clan had returned quickly spread throughout the Sichuan martial world.
Moreover, when word spread that they had annihilated the Sect Masters and experts of three sects in Chengdu, a hundred people in all, along with even their direct-line descendants, people could not help but be astonished that the Sichuan Tang Clan was still alive and well.
Even though the Sichuan Tang Clan had been smashed apart and not a single pillar remained intact, the fact that so many martial artists were still left was surprising. And they could not help but be shocked by the fact that, even while so many of those martial artists had been absent, six combat units of the Demonic Cult had been annihilated and the Right Envoy of Light had escaped with only his life.
CLATTER! CLATTER!
Dozens of wagons were entering Tang Clan Tower.
“This is timber sent by the Plum Blossom Tavern.”
“These are medicinal herbs sent by the Jang Family Clinic.”
“......”
“......”
The wagons carried supplies sent from the Tang Clan’s businesses throughout Sichuan Province. Once they heard that the Sichuan Tang Clan had returned, the Tang Clan’s businesses were all sending supplies.
Seeing wagons loaded with supplies arrive day after day gave the Tang Clan people strength. The fact that there were still many people who trusted and followed them filled them with the strength to rise again.
The Tang Clan people moved the cargo with renewed energy, and the laborers sent by the business owners immediately began work.
At the center of Tang Clan Tower stood a high watchtower. On top of that watchtower were Dang Myeong, the old man placed in overall charge of construction, and the elder of Tang Clan Tower, Hong Paldan.
Elder Hong Paldan, the village chief of Tang Clan Tower, had spread out a map and was explaining things to Dang Myeong.
“In three days, the outside of Tang Clan Tower will all be demolished for now, and plowing the ground should take about two days.”
“The progress is fast.”
“The Tang Clan brothers have lent their strength, so the work is advancing extremely quickly.”
Not only first-rate and second-rate experts, but even peak realm experts had rolled up their sleeves and were using their strength at the construction site.
They lifted and moved massive pillars, and when it came to trees, they infused their blades with Sword Energy and cut them into timber on the spot, so the construction had no choice but to proceed quickly.
Looking at the map, Elder Hong Paldan said,
“Should we not now start working on the Tang Clan buildings?”
At Elder Hong Paldan’s words, Dang Myeong looked at the Tang Clan buildings, which were still devastated.
The Tang Clan buildings remained collapsed and untouched. Of course, in the meantime, the Tang Clan experts had gone in to retrieve whatever items could be brought out and had collected the bodies.
But the buildings themselves had not yet been touched.
“We will not touch the Tang Clan Tower buildings.”
“Then do you intend to leave them as they are?”
“Once the main house brings down the Demonic Cult...... we will rebuild them anew then.”
Dang Myeong looked at the map, then pointed in front of the Tang Clan Fortress building.
“I intend to build the Tang Clan here.”
“Then how do you intend to build it?”
“For now, it only needs to keep out the rain.”
“Still, how could the Tang Clan people live in something of that level......”
“That level is enough for now.”
“Understood. Then once the design is ready, I will show it to you again.”
“Please go through the trouble.”
“Yes.”
“And......”
Dang Myeong looked at Hong Paldan.
“I intend to build a martial hall in Tang Clan Tower.”
“A martial hall?”
“It will not teach the martial arts of the main house. But just as all things lead to one, the main house also possesses martial arts other than its own. That said, they are not third-rate martial arts taught in a village martial hall. They are martial arts of a certain level, enough to reach at least the first-rate expert level if one devotes oneself diligently. We will teach martial arts in the martial hall to those among the people of Tang Clan Tower who wish to learn.”
“The people will be pleased when they hear it. Then I will go down now.”
At Hong Paldan’s words, a Secret Shadow Unit member picked him up and lightly leaped down from the watchtower.
Once Hong Paldan went down, Dang Myeong looked at Dang Jang.
“How is the family members’ training?”
“It is proceeding smoothly.”
At Dang Jang’s words, Dang Myeong nodded and looked west. In that far-off place, beyond the reach of his gaze, lay the Demonic Cult.
As Dang Myeong was looking west, he saw people riding horses approaching the place where the Tang Clan stood.
“Clan Lord.”
At Dang Jang’s words, Dang Myeong looked at him, then turned his head. He saw the people on horseback coming toward them.
“It is Flying Swallow Scholar Jegal Mun.”
Jegal Mun was the Young Lord of the Jegal Clan.
At Dang Jang’s words after looking steadily at them, Dang Myeong smiled brightly and leaped down from the watchtower.
TAP, TAP, TAP!
Lightly kicking off the watchtower as he landed on the ground, Dang Myeong waved his hand.
“Jegal Mun!”
At Dang Myeong’s shout, the man on horseback smiled and waved.
“Dang Myeong!”
Then the man kicked off the horse’s back, soared up, and approached.
“Dang Myeong.”
Standing before him, Jegal Mun gripped Dang Myeong’s shoulder with his hand.
“I am truly grateful...... and sorry.”
“What do you mean?”
“Because of the messenger hawk sent by the Sichuan Tang Clan......”
Jegal Mun sighed, looked at the ruins of the Sichuan Tang Clan, and said,
“The main house avoided disaster.”
“Ah...... that is a relief. So what happened?”
“After receiving the message that the Demonic Cult was targeting the Jegal Clan, the main house activated all of its killing formations and searched for possible assassins.”
“Assassins?”
“The main house is located in the interior of the Central Plains, so we judged that even the Demonic Cult would find it difficult to dispatch experts without our knowledge. In that case, it would have to be a small number of people...... assassins.”
“I see.”
“And...... we were able to find twelve assassins who had infiltrated the main house.”
“Only twelve against the Jegal Clan...... They must have been formidable.”
“They were. All of them were remarkable experts. Fortunately, we had received the message and prepared in advance before it happened, so......”
Jegal Mun, who had been speaking, sighed and shook his head.
“I suppose it is strange to call it fortunate. Six of the elders of the main house were assassinated.”
“As many as six?”
“Even that...... was because we had activated the killing formations in advance, preventing the assassins from moving after carrying out the killings.”
“Is the Clan Lord unharmed?”
“Nothing happened to my father. After receiving the messenger pigeon, he activated the killing formation in his residence.”
“That is fortunate.”
Jegal Mun looked quietly at Dang Myeong and said,
“After hearing of the bloodbath at the Sichuan Tang Clan, the main house also gathered experts and came in haste.”
“You did?”
“But the matter had already happened, and so much poison had spread through the Tang Clan that we could not even enter.”
“Thank you.”
“What is there to thank me for? Just from what the Sichuan Tang Clan did for the main house, we already owe a great debt.”
When Jegal Mun gave a Cupped-Fist Salute and bowed his head, Dang Myeong smiled.
“I am grateful enough that you did not forget and came to find me like this.”
Then Dang Myeong looked at the people who had come with Jegal Mun.
The people who had come with Jegal Mun were all sturdy in build, and they did not look like martial artists of the Jegal Clan.
At that gaze, Jegal Mun smiled and said,
“They are carpenters who have handled construction for the main house for generations. I thought they would be people the Sichuan Tang Clan needed, so I brought them here myself.”
“Thank you.”
Dang Myeong gave a Cupped-Fist Salute and bowed his head to the carpenters as they dismounted.
“Thank you for coming here to help us.”
“We merely followed the Young Lord’s command. As for the work...... where should we discuss it?”
At the carpenters’ blunt words, Dang Myeong smiled and looked at a Secret Shadow Unit member.
“Guide them to Elder Hong Paldan.”
“As you command.”
Once the Secret Shadow Unit member took the carpenters to Hong Paldan, Jegal Mun said, “Is there anything else you need?”
“What we need now is time.”
“Time......”
Jegal Mun looked at the people moving busily.
“Indeed, with this many people, bringing even more would only be excessive.”
“That is right. Ah! Come this way and have a cup of tea.”
Dang Myeong took Jegal Mun into a tent set up to one side.
It was a tent made to receive guests when they arrived. When Dang Myeong entered, a maid bowed her head and began setting down teacups.
Watching that maid, Jegal Mun looked around inside.
“Are you staying here?”
“This is a place arranged for appearances so we can receive guests. As for where we sleep...... we simply sleep wherever we can.”
“That must be hard.”
He stopped short!
At the word “hard,” Dang Myeong fell silent for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said, “We will rise again.”
“Of course you will.”
As he poured tea into the teacups, Dang Myeong said, “Tell me about the Central Plains.”
“The Central Plains......”
Taking the teacup, Jegal Mun nodded and began explaining the current state of the martial world.
“......And so, there is talk in the martial world now that a Martial Alliance must be formed.”
“A Martial Alliance......”
“It was no other place but the Demonic Cult that anni—, ahem! attacked the Sichuan Tang Clan, and they even attacked the main house. In a situation like this, can the Central Plains simply sit still? That is why discussions are proceeding, centered around the Nine Sects and One Gang and the Five Great Clans. On the Unorthodox Faction’s side, talks are also proceeding with the Blood Crystal Palace, the Hegemon Heaven Sect, the Green Forest, and even the Yangtze River Waterway Fortress.”
At Jegal Mun’s words, Dang Myeong paused for a moment, then smiled.
“A Martial Alliance...... I see.”
“What will the Tang Clan do?”
“Us?”
“The Tang Clan is also included among the Five Great Clans. Should you not attend the Martial Alliance?”
At Jegal Mun’s question, Dang Myeong opened his mouth.
“If we say now that we will attend the Martial Alliance, people will think the fallen Tang Clan is trying to use the Martial Alliance as its backing. The main house...... will step forward later, when the Martial Alliance asks us to join.”
At Dang Myeong’s dignified voice, Jegal Mun smiled.
“That is a relief.”
“What is?”
“It feels as though you have grown even greater.”
Jegal Mun smiled and rose from his seat.
“I will go.”
“Already?”
“I was worried I might see a dispirited friend. But seeing you now...... you have grown so much that I seem small by comparison.”
Jegal Mun lightly struck Dang Myeong’s shoulder and said,
“It is strange to say this in a place like this, under circumstances like these...... but congratulations.”
“Congratulations?”
“For graduating from the nameplate called a rising star.”
Jegal Mun smiled at Dang Myeong, then turned away.
“I will not lose either.”
After Jegal Mun left the tent, Dang Myeong watched him and sighed.
“This is not a matter of losing or winning. I...... cannot afford to lose.”
Dang Myeong lifted the tent flap and went outside.
***
The Sichuan Tang Clan’s Intelligence Network slowly began finding its original place again. Because of that, Dang Myeong was looking over the information brought by the Secret Shadow Unit and discussing it with the Unit Commanders of the five units.
“At these three places, Seokjip, Baegok, and Padang, martial artists from the Martial Alliance, the Nine Sects and One Gang, the Five Great Clans, and various minor sects are standing guard.”
“Their numbers are roughly two hundred at each location, six hundred in total.”
“What about Qingcheng and Emei?”
“Qingcheng and Emei dispatched twenty people to Padang, including first-generation disciples and elders.”
Dang Miryeong slightly narrowed her eyes and said,
“Qingcheng and Emei are vile.”
When the people looked at her, Dang Miryeong gave a quiet snort and said,
“The main house, Qingcheng, and Emei have been called the Cauldron of Sichuan for generations. But despite the main house suffering a crisis like this, none of them came.”
At Dang Miryeong’s words, the people let out quiet groans.
The character for cauldron, ding , had three legs. Thus, when it had all three legs, it stood stably, but when one leg fell away, it had no choice but to topple.
“Qingcheng and Emei will someday pay the price for disregarding the main house.”
When the Unit Commanders nodded at his words, Dang Myeong looked at them.
“And today, there is one thing I must tell all of you.”
“Please speak.”
At Dang Jang’s words, Dang Myeong steadied his breath for a moment and opened his mouth.
“I intend to transmit the Three Yang Divine Art to the Unit Commanders.”
“Clan Lord, that cannot be done. The Three Yang Divine Art is the symbol of the Clan Lord. If the five of us learn it......”
“Including the Unit Commander of the Secret Shadow Unit, there are six.”
At Dang Myeong’s words, the Unit Commanders looked at the Unit Commander of the Secret Shadow Unit.
As though hearing this for the first time as well, the Unit Commander of the Secret Shadow Unit’s eyes trembled.
Looking at those Unit Commanders, Dang Myeong opened his mouth.
“We...... must think only of growing stronger.”
At Dang Myeong’s resolute words, the Unit Commanders nodded. That was something they also acknowledged.