Chapter 319

Wi Jeong-guk, the chief elder of the Hyeongsan Sect and the greatest swordsman in Honam, had gathered all the martial artists of the sect on the vast plain just below Hyeongsan Mountain.

This was exactly the place he had chosen for the decisive battle.

He planned to set up camp here and wait for that fellow Seol Poong.

Standing atop a small rise, Wi Jeong-guk surveyed the rows of Hyeongsan warriors he had brought from the sect’s main base.

Nearly a thousand strong, they stood in perfect formation across the plain.

A satisfied smile spread across Wi Jeong-guk’s face.

Such overwhelming strength was unimaginable before he became chief elder.

All of this power had been cultivated under his leadership—the strongest chief elder in Hyeongsan’s history.

With a pleased expression, he turned to Ja Gwang-jin, the sect’s external leader, and asked, “Exactly how many fighters do we have?”

Ja Gwang-jin bowed respectfully and replied, “Excluding the chief elder, we have nine ultra-peak masters, one hundred thirty-four peak masters, and about eight hundred first-class martial artists.”

Hearing this, Wi Jeong-guk smiled even wider.

Though many ultra-peak masters were absent, this force alone was more than enough to dominate not only the Ami Sect, which barely held a seat among the Nine Great Sects, but also the lower-ranked Cheongseong and Gongdong Sects.

In a commanding voice filled with inner energy, Wi Jeong-guk ordered the Hyeongsan warriors, “Draw your swords!”

In unison, the warriors responded, drawing their blades with a sharp, synchronized clang.

“Yes, Chief Elder!”

The sight was breathtaking.

The speed and precision of nearly a thousand swords being drawn simultaneously was a testament to their skill—even without formal sword-drawing training, these were all fighters of a certain caliber.

Wi Jeong-guk raised his voice again.

“Peak masters and above, release your sword aura!”

Over a hundred warriors answered in unison, unleashing brilliant sky-blue sword auras.

“Yes, Chief Elder!”

A brilliant glow erupted.

Wi Jeong-guk’s smile deepened as the watching elders, including Ja Gwang-jin, gasped in awe.

“Impressive!”

“Magnificent!”

The sight was truly spectacular.

Nearly one hundred fifty warriors radiated dazzling sky-blue sword auras—a display so overwhelming it could only be rivaled by the world’s top three powers.

But Wi Jeong-guk was not yet satisfied.

“All others, release your sword energy as well!”

Around eight hundred first-class warriors responded, releasing their sword energy in a wave.

“Yes, Chief Elder!”

A roaring surge of power filled the air.

The elders standing beside Wi Jeong-guk looked on, speechless and moved by the overwhelming display.

At the center of the misty sword energy stood the one hundred thirty-four warriors radiating the brilliant sky-blue aura.

The scene was like something out of legend—utterly mesmerizing.

It stirred a fire in their hearts.

Then, Wi Jeong-guk’s smile faded, replaced by a fierce expression as he addressed them.

“Can you see this? This—this is the strongest force in Hyeongsan’s history! Not just you, but all of us together!”

At his words, the eyes of the Hyeongsan warriors burned with renewed pride.

Wi Jeong-guk continued.

“Has Hyeongsan ever been counted among the Nine Great Sects before? Have we ever been the masters of Honam Province even once?”

His words were true.

Though Hyeongsan was a prestigious sect with a long history, it had never risen to dominate the world, nor had it ever been the leading power in Honam.

It had always been just one of many respectable orthodox sects.

But not anymore.

Since Wi Jeong-guk reclaimed the lost secret manuals and actively disseminated their teachings, Hyeongsan had become one of the strongest sects in the Nine Great Sects.

At the reminder, each warrior’s eyes filled with burning pride.

Their hearts swelled.

Wi Jeong-guk shouted again.

“We alone have achieved this! The Nine Great Sects? The masters of Honam? Only we have done this in our long history! Therefore, we can now proudly say—we are the history and the legend of Hyeongsan! Sons of Hyeongsan! Isn’t that right?!”

A thunderous roar erupted from all the warriors.

“Yes, Chief Elder!”

Wi Jeong-guk raised his sword high and led the chant.

“We are—”

The entire assembly shouted as if to shake the heavens.

“The legend of Hyeongsan! Wooooaaah!”

With this brief speech, Wi Jeong-guk had ignited the spirits of his warriors.

The gloom from recent unfortunate events vanished in an instant.

The elders watching this scene could only marvel.

This was the powerful leadership worthy of the strongest chief elder in Hyeongsan’s history, the man who had elevated the sect into the ranks of the Nine Great Sects over the past decade.

Wi Jeong-guk himself smiled with satisfaction.

Everything now seemed perfect.

He was utterly confident they could never be defeated.

“Seol Poong claims to have brought two thirty-six-star-level masters? So what?”

No matter how strong those few were, the rest of their forces would be no threat.

His reasoning was clear.

Most of them were probably from Honam Province, and even if they searched the entire region, there wouldn’t be more than a hundred peak masters outside of Hyeongsan.

And ultra-peak masters?

Wi Jeong-guk scoffed.

“Hmph! Unless they were original subordinates, there’s no way any newcomers from Honam would be that strong!”

Exceptional cases like Geumdo Mujuk Chohagon were rare.

Most ultra-peak masters built their own domains with massive factions.

And that was only natural.

Who would want to serve under someone else at that level?

That was why the ultra-peak masters originally in Hyeongsan’s territory had already left.

There was neither the strength nor the reason to stay in a place dominated by Hyeongsan.

So whether Seol Poong brought a thousand or two thousand men, there would be at most a hundred to two hundred peak masters, and fewer than ten ultra-peak masters.

With such forces, no matter how skilled Seol Poong was, he couldn’t possibly defeat them.

“If he really wanted to beat us, the Overlord himself would have led the Overlord’s legion here.”

Wi Jeong-guk smiled bitterly as he looked around at the elders beside him.

Then he called them over.

“Gather here for a moment.”

The elders, smiling proudly at the energized disciples, approached with puzzled expressions.

“What is it, Chief Elder?”

Wi Jeong-guk’s sharp gaze swept over them.

Nine ultra-peak masters.

They were the core of Hyeongsan’s forces gathered here.

He pulled a small pouch from his robe and said, “Take one of these each.”

At first, they looked at the pouch with confusion.

But when Wi Jeong-guk revealed the black pills inside, their faces turned to shock.

“Chief Elder! Th-That’s—”

“C-Could it be the Blood Fury Pill?!”

The pills Wi Jeong-guk was handing out were Blood Fury Pills—dangerous elixirs that temporarily boosted one’s power to peak levels for about an hour, but after that, the user would become a wreck or even risk death.

Wi Jeong-guk was offering these pills openly.

“Take one each.”

No one among the elders dared reach out immediately.

They exchanged uneasy glances.

None of them wanted to take the Blood Fury Pill.

While the warriors of the southern Gwangdong Jin family might take such risks for their clan’s honor, these elders valued their own longevity and advancement far more than the sect’s prestige.

They had no desire to risk becoming wrecks or dying.

Wi Jeong-guk’s eyes darkened with a deadly gleam.

He growled low, “Can’t you take it right now?”

At that moment, all the ultra-peak elders simultaneously groaned, clutching their stomachs.

“Ugh!”

“Ugh! Ch-Chief Elder…”

Wi Jeong-guk trusted no one but himself.

So he had imposed a binding command on all his close aides.

They had been forced to ingest a poison.

He looked at them coldly.

“I didn’t make it deadly. Stop whining and keep your composure for the sake of the disciples’ morale.”

The elders gritted their teeth and forced themselves to take the Blood Fury Pills.

They all knew what would happen if they refused.

The agonizing pain that felt like their insides were being torn apart soon subsided.

Wi Jeong-guk addressed them firmly.

“I have no intention of raising dogs who disobey me. Remember—this is your last chance.”

At those words, the top commanders paled and bowed their heads.

It was clear that the message was a threat: if he hesitated even when ordered to take the Bloodlust Pill, he would be killed immediately.

So they had no choice.

Taking the Bloodlust Pill meant a high chance of death or becoming a wreck afterward, but refusing it guaranteed certain death.

All they could do was pray that such a situation never arose.

As they each took a Bloodlust Pill, they regretted the past.

“I shouldn’t have taken the pill back then…”

The first time they took the pill was when they were first inducted into the leadership.

At that moment, in front of the Weijing Kingdom’s eyes, they had to swear loyalty and take the pill themselves.

Of course, such an act was absolutely unacceptable to the martial artists of the orthodox Hyeongsan Sect.

Yet none of them hesitated to take it at the time.

They believed enduring that much was worth it for their own advancement.

Besides, they thought that as long as they pleased the Weijing Kingdom, they wouldn’t be threatened because of it.

No one could have predicted that things would come to this.

But regretting it now was useless.

Just then, Weijing Kingdom’s leader gazed toward the distant horizon and said,

“The rabble have arrived.”

The elders of the leadership followed his gaze and turned their heads.

From the forest bordering the plains, people began to emerge.

At the forefront stood a young man in a red martial uniform, leading the group.

Weijing Kingdom muttered,

“That’s Seol Poong.”

Seol Poong stepped out of the forest and walked slowly but steadily toward the Hyeongsan Sect warriors arrayed on the plain.

Behind him, more martial artists continued to stream out of the forest.

By rough estimate, there were well over a thousand, and yet the line of warriors showed no sign of ending.

Seeing this, the Outer Hall Master, Ja Gwangjin, spoke gravely.

“There are a lot of them.”

All those people were martial artists who bore grudges against the Hyeongsan Sect and had voluntarily gathered.

It was both threatening and unsettling.

Weijing Kingdom scoffed in response.

“What does it matter how many ants there are? Just crush them.”

The leadership’s warriors fell silent, their expressions uneasy.

They weren’t yet sure if these really were just ants to be crushed.

They were only filled with anxiety, fearing they might soon have to take the Bloodlust Pill themselves.

After a while, when about three thousand warriors had emerged from the forest, the procession finally ended.

They stopped just fifty or so paces from the Hyeongsan Sect warriors, following Seol Poong.

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Seol Poong looked over the Hyeongsan Sect warriors lined up on the plain and said,

“Everyone here seems to be at least mid-level first-class martial artists. They’re a formidable force to confront head-on.”

Beside him, Ban Hyunghoe leader Jeong So-sang replied with fiery eyes,

“That’s not true, sir. Our spirit is higher, and our numbers greater. What is there to fear? We even have masters like you, the Three Divine Spears’ Gam Daehyup, and the White Tiger Elder, No Sa. Please give the order to attack. Today, we will wipe out the Hyeongsan Sect completely!”

Seol Poong met his burning gaze.

Jeong So-sang, usually not so hot-tempered, was clearly unable to keep calm facing his sworn enemy in person.

The eyes of the Ban Hyunghoe members behind him blazed even more fiercely.

They looked ready to charge at any moment.

But Seol Poong could not grant their wish.

He knew he had to restrain them.

A frontal clash causing countless casualties was neither what he wanted nor what Sun Woojin had planned.

Seol Poong glanced around at the Ban Hyunghoe members and spoke soothingly.

“Jeong Daehyup, I understand your deep hatred. But the ones you should seek revenge on are not the Hyeongsan Sect disciples, but Weijing Kingdom and his close aides. They are merely tools used by Weijing Kingdom. You can’t take out your grudge on the knife just because a thief stabbed your parents with it.”

An impatient Ban Hyunghoe member shouted,

“That’s not true! Those who followed Weijing Kingdom by their own will and actions are not mere tools! They must all pay for their crimes!”

Another member added,

“Exactly! Anyone who has an enemy in the Hyeongsan Sect cannot be free from their sins!”

Seol Poong felt troubled by their voices burning with hatred.

Their words had merit.

Though Weijing Kingdom orchestrated everything, those who followed his orders were accomplices.

Still, he could not allow a direct confrontation as they wished.

It went against the original plan, and though they had greater numbers, Seol Poong’s instincts told him their average skill was far inferior to the Hyeongsan Sect.

Just as Sun Woojin had predicted before leaving for Hyeongsan.

Seol Poong sighed and spoke with a somewhat stern expression.

“If we fight them head-on, everyone here might die. Our numbers are greater, but their average martial skill is much higher. Are you still willing to face them directly?”

The Ban Hyunghoe members shouted back passionately.

“Of course! We fear no death! If we can die alongside them, we will have no regrets!”

“Give the order to attack, sir! We will die here if we must!”

Their fervor was explosive.

But unlike their passion, Seol Poong’s expression grew colder and colder.