Tianhui pulled out the sword pierced into the heart of the dead Baisheshen.
Gurgle—
The blood that began to flow out through the pierced wound dyed his pure white robes like a blooming plum blossom.
Withdrawing his gaze from Baisheshen's coldly stiffened corpse, Tianhui muttered sullenly.
"Did I underestimate the Jianghu too much?"
Even though he had struck down Baisheshen, his expression appeared so dissatisfied that it was hard to consider him the victor.
'I didn't intend to use demonic arts.'
Ever since he decided to become a Taoist of the Huashan Sect five years ago, he had resolved to no longer use his demonic absolute arts.
But what happened?
With just the inner qi of the Meihua Shengong, he couldn't break through Baisheshen's qigong techniques, so in the end, he had no choice but to draw upon the power of the Juedai Junlin Gong.
"The fact that it was inevitable is actually what annoys me."
His furrowed brows drew together.
"But did he say Bawushen? I feel like I've heard it somewhere..."
The moment he recalled Baisheshen's words left as his final dying declaration.
"Tianhui!"
He turned his head at the thunderous shout coming from behind him.
"Are you alright? Where is Baisheshen?"
"I came to help!"
In response to the urgent questions from Xuandao and Ha Yujin, who had arrived late, he moved his sword and pointed at the coldly stiffened Baisheshen.
"...!"
The two glared their eyes simultaneously.
With dazed faces and mouths agape, they looked as if they had witnessed an unbelievable sight.
Ignoring the two who were wearing foolish expressions, Tianhui swung his sword to shake off the dark, clotted blood sticking to the blade.
Swish—
At the sound, Xuandao turned his head.
Moving his Adam's apple largely as if swallowing saliva, he opened his mouth and asked.
"D-Did you do this?"
"Yes."
Tianhui stared at the stuttering Xuandao and answered sullenly.
"Baisheshen..."
When Xuandao seemed to have lost his words and stared at Tianhui with a dazed face.
Rumble—
Baiguicheng, unable to withstand the clash between Tianhui and Baisheshen, began to shake.
"More importantly, it looks like it's going to collapse soon, so let's go outside."
As soon as those words ended, the cracks everywhere grew larger, and dust fell as if it would collapse right at that moment.
Pitter-patter—
Finally, when even stones started falling on their heads, not only Xuandao but also Ha Yujin, who had been lost in a daze, snapped back to their senses and shouted simultaneously.
"Let's hurry and get out!"
"We need to get out!"
* * *
"W-What is going on?"
The outside was packed with people.
Perhaps the continuous sounds of qi piercing the air from Baiguicheng had made even those immersed in entertainment curious, as people were flocking near the castle one after another.
"Baiguicheng is..."
"Collapsing!"
Those who arrived at Baiguicheng couldn't hide their shock.
It was surprising enough that the gates, which were like an iron fortress, were broken, but the inside was filled with corpses and the smell of blood.
And all of them were Baiguicheng's martial artists.
Creak—
At that moment, an ominous sound was heard.
Soon after, the ground shook as if an earthquake had occurred, and the people were terrified.
"U-Uaaack!"
"It's an earthquake!"
Crash!
Would a bolt of lightning from a clear sky be like this?
As Baiguicheng, which had ruled over Luotianxian, collapsed, the onlookers lost their words.
"I told you, the roots must be pulled out."
Tianhui, who kept his distance from the onlookers, smiled with satisfaction.
He felt refreshed inside, as if a long-standing stagnation had finally been resolved.
"Finally..."
Xuandao, who had been whispering with a trembling voice, was choked up with overwhelming joy and couldn't speak.
Is he that happy?
As Tianhui watched Xuandao, who couldn't hold back his surging joy and ended up choking up while trying to speak, he shrugged his shoulders.
"Z-Zhenren!"
Zhen Kai, who had been hiding in the alley for a while, discovered Tianhui's group and ran over.
And with an expression as if he had witnessed an unbelievable sight, he stared blankly at the three before swallowing hard.
"D-Did the three of you really bring down Baiguicheng?"
When Tianhui was about to answer, Xuandao raised his hand to stop him and answered instead.
"Can't you tell by looking?"
Zhen Kai's mouth dropped open.
Was this even a believable statement?
Baiguicheng was one of the six pillars supporting the Siheilian, the Liuhuangmen.
It was known as a great sect comparable to the Nine Sects One Faction, yet to say it was brought down by just three people.
If it weren't for Xuandao, he would have told him to stop spouting nonsense.
"W-What happened to Baisheshen?"
Zhen Kai asked cautiously, gauging Xuandao's mood.
"That guy is dead."
Zhen Kai's mind went blank from the shock.
'He struck down Baisheshen?'
Zhen Kai's mind was complicated right now.
The Huashan Sect's reputation had fallen to rock bottom, incomparable to the past.
Even if he was Huashan's First Sword, it was said that he was only at the level of an elder from the other Nine Sects One Faction.
But he struck down Baisheshen?
Life returned to Zhen Kai's eyes.
'This is an opportunity!'
Zhen Kai's mouth watered.
He was certain that this information would be a great advantage for him in the Hougai competition.
"D-Did the Zhenren strike him down?"
When Xuandao nodded.
"I-I'll be right back."
Zhen Kai, who quickly bowed his head once, ran swiftly toward Baiguicheng.
Watching Zhen Kai's retreating back, Xuandao looked at Ha Yujin and Tianhui and said.
"Let's say I was the one who killed Baisheshen."
"What? But it wasn't you, Senior, who struck down Baisheshen..."
Ha Yujin, stopping mid-sentence, glanced at Tianhui, and Xuandao shook his head.
"Do you want Tianhui to follow in the footsteps of our youngest junior disciple?"
"...!"
Ha Yujin understood instantly.
"But will that be alright? If this incident becomes known, the Huashan Sect will be able to gain great fame unlike ever before..."
Baisheshen was the hegemon of Yicheng.
If it were known that the one who struck him down was someone as young as Tianhui, it would shake the Jianghu, no, the entire world.
"What's the problem with such trivial fame? If Tianhui is here, we can obtain it anytime."
Xuandao looked at Tianhui with a gentle gaze. To him, Tianhui was more precious than anything else in the world.
"Rather than such things, Tianhui's safety comes first."
"But if it's Tianhui, who struck down Baisheshen, no one in the world..."
Ha Yujin, who was speaking, paused.
There were those they had forgotten, tainted by the peaceful era of the Jiuzhou Sanbashi.
'They existed.'
Ha Yujin opened his stopped mouth again.
"...I understand."
What are they talking about?
Tianhui looked at the conversation between the two, who were making a fuss in front of him, as if it was pathetic, and then shook his head.
"More importantly, let's go back. There's nothing more to see now."
"Let's do that."
"I think I should go separately now."
Ha Yujin said with a stiff face.
"Are you planning to go straight to Zhongnan?"
"Since this was done on my own initiative, I think I need to report it to my sect separately."
As he spoke, he glanced at Tianhui.
"Only then can we prevent rumors about Tianhui from spreading."
Xuandao laughed heartily and patted Ha Yujin's shoulder.
"Thank you."
"Not at all. It's something I naturally have to do."
Ha Yujin, who smiled faintly, was about to turn around but asked as if he remembered something.
"But, Senior. Can I visit the Huashan Sect later?"
Xuandao nodded his head greatly.
"Come anytime. Even if the relationship between the Huashan Sect and the Zhongnan Sect isn't good, if it's you, everyone will welcome you."
"Hahaha! Is that so?"
With a lightened expression, Ha Yujin performed a bow and left.
"Then I will visit you in the future."
* * *
The world was shaking.
It all started with a single rumor spreading from Shaanxi.
'The annihilation of Baiguicheng.'
It was such a shocking rumor that one would want to dig out their ears the moment they heard it.
Was Baiguicheng just any ordinary sect?
It was one of the Liuhuangmen, and one of the greatest sects counted on the fingers in the world.
Because of that, most people dismissed it as a false rumor, but the Gaibang, the source of the rumor, nailed it as a fact, not a lie.
Adding an astonishing fact to it.
'Huashan's First Sword and the Feiyan Jianjun killed Baisheshen and brought down Baiguicheng!'
Everyone was appalled.
It was surprising enough that only two people did it, but their identities were even more surprising.
At least the Feiyan Jianjun was widely known as he had been active in the Jianghu recently.
He was the one called the next First Sword to succeed the Zhongnan Jiansheng in the Zhongnan Sect.
On the other hand, Huashan's First Sword?
No one knew about him.
Not only his Taoist alias but even his gender.
No one was interested in the Huashan Sect, which was walking the path of ruin, and it had been over ten years since the one called Huashan's First Sword was active in the Jianghu.
But perceptions changed with this incident.
Various sects began to move to figure out who Huashan's First Sword really was.
The Huashan Sect began to stand out in the Jianghu for the first time in a long while.
Like a stone dropping into a calm lake.
Soon, the world began to shake.
Along with that, the world's attention focused on Shaanxi, specifically on the Huashan Sect, the Zhongnan Sect, and the Siheilian.
Because depending on how the Siheilian reacted, a war between the orthodox and demonic sects might break out.
And Tianhui, who had caused such a complicated incident, arrived at the Feifeng Merchant Group.
"We have arrived."
Zhen Kai, who was at the coachman's seat, smiled broadly as he looked at Tianhui and Xuandao.
Thanks to informing the Gaibang of the detailed information about the collapse of Baiguicheng, he was in the state of being the closest to becoming a Hougai.
'I need to build more connections!'
Zhen Kai smiled brightly while looking at Zhenren Xuandao with a clingy gaze.
Tianhui, unaware of such thoughts, looked at Zhen Kai as if he were a madman.
'No, he is a madman.'
Recalling Zhen Kai giggling while looking at Baisheshen's corpse, he could be sure.
Tianhui withdrew his gaze from Zhen Kai and opened the carriage door.
The broken gates of the Feifeng Merchant Group were still as they were, with the inside completely hollowed out.
At that moment, Tianhui's eyes narrowed.
Beyond the smashed gates, a familiar middle-aged woman was having a conversation with Gao Jiying.
"...Your help as a benefactor was great."
"Was it now?"
Instantly, her eyes met his.
"Xianzi?"
Gao Jiying called out in confusion at her reaction, but she stepped forward as if possessed. The woman, who had already unleashed the Yuhuan Miaobu, stood urgently by Tianhui's side.
"Hui!"
At the thunderous shout, the attention of Gao Jiying and the others in the Feifeng Merchant Group focused on the gate.
Tianhui also turned his head.
'Xuanli Shigu?'
"Haa, you are safe."
She, who had approached at some point, swept her chest with a relieved expression.
"Hahaha. Shimei, it seems you only see Tianhui and not me."
Xuanli raised her head sharply.
"Shixiong!"
Despite her sharp voice, Xuandao wore a gentle smile.
"It's a joke. But you hated coming out to the Jianghu so much, why did you come out?"
"Because Tianhui and Shixiong were in danger..."
She, who was hesitating to speak, suddenly seemed to recall something and added in an urgent tone.
"How did the matter go?"
"It went well."
Xuanli's expression changed moment by moment.
From doubt to realization, and finally to ecstasy.
Looking at Xuandao with a maximally agitated expression, she barely parted her trembling lips.
"T-That means..."
"We have achieved revenge for our youngest junior disciple."
"Is it... really?"
When Xuandao nodded vigorously, Xuanli bit her lip and sobbed.
"Sob, finally..."
"Why the tears on such a good day?"
Xuandao patted Xuanli's shoulder.
"Don't cry and smile. That way, our youngest junior disciple would like it, wouldn't he?"
Just as Tianhui was subtly distancing himself from Xuandao, who was comforting the tearful Xuanli.
"It's a relief that you have returned safely."
Gao Jiying approached.
"It seems there were no further attacks."
"Fortunately, there were none."
"Is that so?"
When Tianhui was about to turn around, Gao Jiying asked in a very cautious tone.
"May I ask you one thing?"
"What is it?"
"How did the matter turn out?"
At the question asked with a face full of worry, Tianhui chuckled and replied.
"There will be no more attacks now."
Gao Jiying's eyes shook greatly.
No more attacks?
There was only one meaning to those words.
Either the negotiations were finished, or the enemy was annihilated.
However, it was impossible that they negotiated with their enemy, Baiguicheng.
That meant.
'Baiguicheng was annihilated!'
Finishing his thought, Gao Jiying immediately bowed his head so fast that his hair flew wildly.
"Thank you. How should I repay this grace... Ah!"
Gao Jiying, who was expressing his gratitude, seemed to recall something and urgently rummaged through his clothes.
"In here..."
After a moment, he carefully handed a brilliantly shining gold plate he took out from his clothes to Tianhui.
"If you show this plate at any famous merchant group in the Central Plains, you will be able to receive a small amount of money."
A peculiar light appeared in Tianhui's eyes.
'Money? I needed that right now.'
Thinking it might be necessary for his future Jianghu activities, Tianhui readily accepted it.
"That's good."
"Hahaha. It's a relief that it's to your liking."
Gao Jiying smiled broadly.
The gold plate was a very important thing that made the current Feifeng Merchant Group, but Gao Jiying had no hesitation.
'Losing the gold plate is painful, but if I build a connection with the benefactor beyond that, there will be nothing to fear in the world.'
Gao Jiying finished his calculations in his head in a short moment.
What was the most important thing to a merchant?
It was money and trust.
It was connections.
And for the sake of connections, he accepted a small loss and handed the gold plate to Tianhui.
Perhaps throwing the biggest gamble of his life, on which the future of the Feifeng Merchant Group depended.
Gao Jiying moved his mouth as he watched Tianhui put the gold plate into his sleeve as if it were nothing.
"What do you plan to do now, Benefactor?"
"There's still the mission to protect the Feifeng Merchant Group left, so I will continue to stay and..."
"No, that will not do."
Xuanli cut him off and approached.
"Tianhui must return to the Huashan Sect from now on."