"With the recent takeover of the Tianxia Association, our Ansun branch has grown to a scale rivaling a hall of the Hao Sect,"
Jaseong said.
"That is why I would like to request that the Ansun branch, which I manage, be promoted to the thirteenth hall of the Hao Sect."
"...!"
"...!!"
"...!!!"
At Jaseong's words, the twelve hall lords all visibly flinched.
Within the Hao Sect, a hall lord possessed trendous authority.
With a hall lord's authority, one could issue missions to nurous subordinate branches,
and freely access all the Hao Sect's secret pavilions, such as the Secret Vault of Peerless Arts, where lost martial manuals from the martial world are gathered, or the Shadow Pavilion, which draws the top-class secrets from across the Central Plains.
Thus, it was only natural that this was a prize Jaseong coveted.
'... With this, the expansion of my power will far surpass even my recent takeover of the Tianxia Association.'
Hearing Jaseong's request, the Sect Leader behind the black veil trailed off at the end of his words.
"The thirteenth hall of the Hao Sect, huh..."
At the Sect Leader's reaction, Lee Rin and Gu Janghu both looked sowhat tense as they awaited his next words.
But the wait was not long.
"Very well."
"...!"
"I hereby promote your Ansun branch to a hall, and bestow upon you, the Ansun branch leader, the qualification of hall lord."
At the reply from behind the black veil, Jaseong let a satisfied smile slip inwardly.
'With this, I'm one step closer to those enemies.'
Once more, the Hao Sect Leader spoke.
"Our Hao Sect's thirteenth hall shall be called Scarlet Lotus Hall (赤蓮堂). How does that sound?"
Jaseong answered calmly, saluting with a cupped fist.
"As the hall lord of the Hao Sect's thirteenth hall, Scarlet Lotus Hall, I will devote myself to the prosperity of the Hao Sect."
Yet for so reason, the mont Jaseong answered, an inexplicable laughter drifted out from behind the black curtain.
* * *
Having received the reward he desired from the Hao Sect Leader, Jaseong exited his audience chamber.
But as he was leaving, Gal Seo-ryeong made him an unexpected proposal.
"Ansun Branch chief—or rather, I should call you Scarlet Lotus Hall Lord now. Either way, follow ."
"?"
"There's a seat prepared for you."
A seat for ?
Jaseong followed Gal Seo-ryeong with a puzzled expression.
The place she led him to was a three-story pavilion open on all sides.
Below, clear water flowed, and around them, a blue bamboo forest swayed gently in the wind.
It was a view fit for an immortal to idly enjoy.
Inside the pavilion, it was laden with all manner of delicacies.
As she saw this, Lee Rin whispered with sparkling eyes,
"Wow! Truly the pinnacle of elegance! They even have all kinds of sweets?!"
"Is that all you see, just the sweets?"
"Do you, a great hero, even appreciate sweets?"
"You'll rot all your teeth at this rate."
"Don't talk like my nursemaid."
Lee Rin puffed out her cheeks.
But Gal Seo-ryeong was not the only one attending this banquet.
Thud, thud—
The twelve hall lords began filing in behind Jaseong.
A woman carrying a spear larger than her own body.
A slim man with a short stature.
An old man with pallid skin and a long white beard.
A man in black clothes whose face was covered by a black scarf, and so on.
With each new hall lord that revealed themselves, a heavy tension settled upon the gathering.
"... What is this occasion?"
"A new hall lord is born, so by Hao Sect tradition, the hall lords gather for a banquet,"
Gal Seo-ryeong explained. "There's no poison in the wine, so no need to be too wary."
The old man with pale skin and a white beard, and the slim man, spoke in turn.
They were the sa hall lords who earlier had watched Jaseong with wary eyes.
There were a total of seven hall lords who greeted Jaseong with sharp, guarded gazes.
Jaseong more or less understood why they acted this way.
Hyang-I had once said this to him:
— "The Hao Sect was always more of a coalition of independent branches than a unified sect. Hall lords keep each other in check as they compete over territories; that's always been the norm, and it's still that way."
Just as she said, the new hall lord, Jaseong, threatened the balance of their powers.
But there were so who welcod Jaseong.
"It's been a while, Ansun Branch chief. Or should I say Scarlet Lotus Hall Lord now? You grow more astonishing each ti we et," said the Lord of Black Blood Hall, Do Unjang, as he took his seat.
"When I first saw you, you were a fledgling who had barely set foot on the martial path. But now, you seem to have soared past even the peak realm. What a fortuitous encounter you must have had!"
At Do Unjang's question, the other hall lords also looked at Jaseong in puzzlent.
They had every reason to be curious.
Even the Hao Sect's information network could not uncover the reason for Jaseong's rapid ascent.
How could they know he had contracted with the Celestial Realm and was studying martial arts from the souls of supre experts who had already passed?
"It was thanks to my ceaseless training,"
Jaseong answered blandly.
Though their curiosity only deepened, the hall lords refrained from asking further.
This ti, Jaseong was the one to pose a question.
"I'm sure you are all well aware of my origin. However, I hardly know the backgrounds or forr sects of the other hall lords."
"......"
"Now that we are fellow hall lords, would you each introduce yourselves?"
A montary silence fell upon the pavilion.
All eyes turned to Gal Seo-ryeong.
"Very well. Then I shall begin with myself."
At her words, Jaseong, Lee Rin, and Gu Janghu all listened closely.
'Despite being, at most, in her forties, she holds her own against the martial world's top experts as a supre peak master... At last, I'll learn the truth behind the guardian general's identity.'
"I was originally the top disciple of Ei, one of the orthodox Nine Great Sects."
"Ei...?"
"To be more precise, I was the direct disciple of the Buddhist Nun of Mount Ei, who was hailed as the greatest expert in the sect's history. Thanks to her, I was even considered as Ei's next sect leader."
Gal Seo-ryeong began to speak slowly, her eyes distant with sorrow.
"But the Great Heavenly Demon War changed everything. My master perished in a bloody battle with the Heavenly Demon. Just before she died, she passed all her accumulated internal energy and martial arts to with her final art, the Transmission Through Contact."
"...!"
Jaseong's group twitched in surprise.
The Transmission Through Contact was an art where a master imparted everything to their disciple.
Only the most skilled experts could attempt such a feat, and the cost was the master's death.
"Thanks to that, I was able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the martial world's top experts at a relatively young age."
"Then why did you leave Ei? If what you say is true, you would've beco the sect leader."
"... After my master passed, Ei changed completely. They abandoned the path of righteousness the orthodox sects should pursue, and broke into factions vying for the succession."
"......."
"I beca entangled in the infighting, enduring all manner of deadly trials. At one point, even my dearest fellow disciple was poisoned and nearly died..."
"......!"
"In the midst of it all, I t our current Sect Leader. I owed my life to him... and thus beca the Hao Sect's guardian general."
Gal Seo-ryeong finished, moistening her throat with a drink.
One by one, the other hall lords also began sharing their stories.
A Taoist from the annihilated Kunlun Sect, an outside disciple from the Mount Hua Sect, an elder from the Biweol Gate, one of the Four Great Clans and Seven Sects of the unorthodox faction, a descendant of a hidden hermit, and so on.
After hearing this much, Jaseong beca curious.
'... Just what kind of person is the Hao Sect Leader to assemble such top-tier experts under the na of the Hao Sect?'
Growing more inquisitive, Jaseong emptied his cup and asked Gal Seo-ryeong directly.
"Then, what kind of person is the Sect Leader?"
The mont Jaseong asked, the glare in the pavilion turned icy.
Even Gal Seo-ryeong's previously friendly look beca cold.
"Scarlet Lotus Hall Lord. There are things not even the Hao Sect's hall lords may ask."
"?"
"The identity of the Sect Leader."
"......."
"No one must ask, nor should they try to find out."
"... Why is that?"
"It is an exceedingly dangerous secret."
After Gal Seo-ryeong, the Lord of Black Blood Hall, Do Unjang, also added,
"The Sect Leader's identity is the highest classified secret in the Hao Sect. Even we, the twelve hall lords, do not truly know who he is."
"......."
"What we do believe is that the Hao Sect, under his leadership, shall beco the mightiest sect in the Central Plains. And through him, each of us twelve hall lords will achieve what we most desire."
... Following soone whose identity you're not even allowed to know.
Jaseong couldn't quite understand it.
"Scarlet Lotus Hall Lord. Enough idle chatter, let tell you sothing you need to hear."
"Sothing I need to hear? What would that be?"
"The culprit who eliminated the Evil Path Association Leader, Ma Yeongmyeol."
At Gal Seo-ryeong's shift in topic, Jaseong's eyes sharpened.
After all, the forr Tianxia Association Leader, Gun Hanmaek, had requested this exact commission: 'Find the one who killed the Evil Path Association Leader.'
"It's not certain, but apparently it was soone from the orthodox faction."
"An orthodox faction's doing...?"
"I'll say it again—this information isn't solid yet. But looking at the state of the martial world now, it's not out of the question."
The conversation was picked up by Lord of Moon Castle Hall, his skin pale,
"With the commotion you caused with the Seven-Star Cloud Blade, the orthodox factions are in a state of serious internal conflict."
"......."
"If the unorthodox factions were to strike now? Of course the orthodox side would be at a disadvantage. So the orthodox faction may have killed the Evil Path Association Leader to spark discord amongst the unorthodox factions as well."
Hearing this, Jaseong fell into deep thought.
"If a true expert of the orthodox faction did kill the Evil Path Association Leader... Who could have done it?"
"That much is obvious. Only three or four individuals in the orthodox faction could pull off such a feat.
The Murim Alliance Leader Namgung Cheon-rui, the Mount Hua Sect Leader Cheongheo Jin-in, Shaolin Temple's Head Monk Hyun Gong, and Zhong Yeob of the Zhongnan Sect. That's about it, isn't it?"
At that mont, the woman carrying a massive spear, the Lord of Flying Dragon Hall, looked at Jaseong and said,
"If Scarlet Lotus Hall Lord acquires any information about the culprit, please share it with us. I hear you've been establishing new branches all over the Central Plains."
Although the Lord of Flying Dragon Hall smiled, her gaze was cold.
Jaseong's growing number of secret Hao Sect branches throughout the Central Plains had put them on alert.
The old man with the long white beard, the Lord of Seven Stars Hall, also spoke, his eyes sharp.
"By the way, you said one reason for coming here was to see the Sect Leader, but also to inquire at the Shadow Pavilion... What is it you're seeking?"
At this pointed question from the Seven Stars Hall Lord, Jaseong frowned inwardly.
The truth was that he wanted to use the Shadow Pavilion to find the whereabouts of the Eternal Divine Physician.
But if he admitted that, he'd be revealing his own injuries to the other hall lords.
So for now, Jaseong gave a vague answer.
"How did you hear that I had business at the Shadow Pavilion?"
"I overheard your earlier conversation with the guardian general."
"So you make a habit of eavesdropping?"
"Eavesdropping... In an information organization like ours, isn't that an essential virtue rather than a bad habit?"
"I want to use the Shadow Pavilion simply to learn more about the current affairs of the Central Plains."
"You could just use the network of branches you're establishing everywhere for that, couldn't you?"
"Whatever I use, isn't it up to ?"
At Jaseong's reply, the already chilly air in the pavilion grew even colder.
What made things even chillier was Jaseong's attitude.
*Munch, munch.*
Despite the glacial atmosphere, Jaseong nonchalantly continued to pick up trout sashimi with his chopsticks and drained his cup.
As if he were simply enjoying his own private banquet.
At his bold attitude, all of the twelve hall lords fell into their own private thoughts.
'As expected of soone from the bottom; manners went out the window with his rice.'
'Soone barely past twenty acting so bold before all twelve of us—'
'It's not about martial skill. His natural temperant is like that of a tiger...'
It was Gal Seo-ryeong, the guardian general, who stepped in to diate as the mood chilled further.
"That's enough, Lord of Seven Stars Hall. Scarlet Lotus Hall Lord is a full hall lord and may use the Shadow Pavilion as he wishes."
"......."
"And you too, Scarlet Lotus Hall Lord, that's enough. Instead, let give you a useful tip."
"A useful tip? What is it?"
"Don't just visit the Shadow Pavilion—why not also pay a visit to the Secret Vault of Peerless Arts?"
"The Secret Vault of Peerless Arts? You an the place where all the lost martial manuals of the martial world are gathered?"
"That's right. Many of us twelve hall lords found enlightennt there—including myself."
"...!"
"With your martial talent, it could give you wings. You never know, there might be a manual there that proves invaluable to you."
Gal Seo-ryeong spoke with a slight smile.
To Jaseong, it felt as if he had just discovered a treasure chest he hadn't expected.
'Several of the twelve hall lords attained enlightennt at the Secret Vault of Peerless Arts...'
Just what sort of manuals awaited there, that so many masters found their breakthroughs within?
Jaseong decided then and there to go straight to the Secret Vault of Peerless Arts.
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