Several days earlier.
On the outskirts of Longzhong Mountain, where the Zhuge Clan’s headquarters was located.
Hidden among the terrain features a considerable distance from the mountain’s entrance, a gaze silently watched the many riders and carriages emerging through the Life Gate of the formation surrounding the place.
‘That many people leaving all at once… Come to think of it, they said there would soon be a Murim Alliance meeting.’
A figure who kept his presence thoroughly concealed while slipping past the probing of the Zhuge Clan’s arcane practitioners, who periodically swept the surroundings.
He remained there, holding his breath until those who had come out had completely departed, and only after confirming several times that every trace of people had vanished from the area did he slowly rise.
“Whew, as expected of the Zhuge Clan. Had I not prepared in advance, I would have been discovered.”
A middle-aged man in old, tattered Daoist robes, who had been lying quietly between the bushes, brushed the dirt from his body and let out a low sigh.
Afterward, as he moved his limbs this way and that to loosen his stiff body, Qingguan, an arcane practitioner of the Maoshan Sect, glanced once more at the formation around Longzhong Mountain and lightly furrowed his brow.
‘I sensed nothing particularly out of place from those who just left. Then is it still remaining inside the Zhuge Clan’s headquarters?’
It had already been some time since he, having sensed the alien spirit power manifested against the bandits at Dongting Lake, had followed its traces all the way here.
In terms of arcane arts, his own school, the Maoshan Sect, was no less renowned than the Zhuge Clan, but as a mere practitioner, approaching any closer to the other party’s headquarters was impossible. Thus he had only been watching from afar like this…
‘Strange. Judging by its movements until now, there is no way it should be this quiet.’
Yet despite so much time having passed, he still had not grasped any clear clue.
Nor had any noteworthy news come from his colleagues dispatched to other regions.
“Hohoho, well now. Could it have been toward Wudang Mountain instead? No matter how I look at it, the thread of fate seems clearer on this side… Did this poor Daoist misjudge it?”
But just because he had gained nothing, he could not turn away and pretend ignorance now.
Soon, he pulled various ritual implements from his pack and let out a light sigh.
It seemed this matter would not be ending anytime soon.
And several days after that.
In a place far removed from where the Zhuge Clan was located, another otherworlder appeared and began his activities in earnest.
Yet Qingguan, still preoccupied with this side, and indeed no one in this world, realized it.
***
“Mm, this should be enough. Shall we move on to the next place, then?”
For Harley, who already possessed senses beyond common sense, finding a hidden vault among the rubble of a collapsed building was nothing at all.
When he could discern the state beneath the ground in detail from the vibrations caused by stamping his foot, and read the material of objects as though seeing through them with his qi sense, what problem could there possibly be?
The valuables that filled 「Subspace Storage」, the secret manuals handed over to Hubert for interpretation, and even several high-quality corpses selected and sent to Hans.
Having roughly wrapped up the situation like that, he left the scene with light steps.
His heart feeling full from a haul far richer than expected.
And after a little time passed.
A group of five or six people in Daoist robes cautiously approached the site where only ruins remained.
“…What in the world is this?”
“Ha, is this truly that Asura Sect?”
“Not a single thing is intact. Then what they said was true…”
They clicked their tongues as they looked around the sect grounds, which had been utterly smashed to pieces.
They had only intended to confirm the facts from a distance after hearing news that was difficult to believe, but judging from the current state of affairs, this was far more serious than what they had heard.
Naturally, their expressions could only grow steadily stiffer.
Collapsed buildings and savagely torn-up earth, corpses strewn everywhere and the blood that had flowed from them.
The traces of battle remaining throughout the place starkly showed just how desperate a fight had taken place here.
And…
“Senior Brother, please look at this.”
“…The corpses are gone.”
“Yes. Their number does not appear to be all that great, but judging from the remaining traces, it seems only the corpses of the strongest experts were selected and taken.”
“I doubt they intended to bury only them separately in this situation.”
The unease they felt began to grow even greater as they investigated the remaining traces.
“There are signs over here that the collapsed rubble was rummaged through! It seems they were looking for something…”
“Could their purpose have been to seize something the Asura Sect possessed?”
“Even so, to do all of this alone…? Could there not have been another helper?”
“…But the traces left behind clearly match the testimony…”
Shadows fell over the faces of those investigating the scene.
In their minds, the dazed testimonies of the fugitives repeated themselves.
The bizarrely dressed, muscular giant who had suddenly appeared.
His savage laughter, the sect that began to be destroyed by a single man, and even the final sight of the experts who desperately charged at him.
Their consistent testimonies were so specific that they could not possibly be dismissed as some misunderstanding.
“…Senior Brother, would it not be better to join up with the Zhuge Clan after all? I heard they are not very far from us right now.”
“I think so as well. A mysterious brute capable of annihilating the Asura Sect single-handedly is roaming about. Would that side not be safer, after all…”
“…Let us return for now. Martial Uncle will make the decision.”
After murmuring among themselves, they, the Daoists of the Wudang Sect, soon clasped their hands cautiously toward the scene of the tragedy and hurriedly turned away.
In order to rejoin the main force as quickly as possible and report the situation here.
And the Wudang Sect, having confirmed the facts through them, ultimately decided to make contact with the Zhuge Clan.
That resulted in the envoys of the two forces, who had continued a certain degree of exchange yet had still subtly kept each other in check and remained distant, gathering in one place.
***
“Ha, the Asura Sect?”
“No wonder. I was wondering why they had suddenly gone so quiet. So something like that happened.”
“If that is true, are we not in danger as well? The Asura Sect Master, the Mad Wicked Tyrant Saber, is an expert of the Transformation Realm. If someone destroyed a sect with such a person in it, there is no way we could handle him even by joining forces with the Wudang Sect…”
“But we cannot simply sit still, can we? For now, we must do something…”
Amid the somewhat unsettled atmosphere caused by the Wudang Sect’s sudden contact.
Hugo, who had heightened his senses to the utmost and grasped the whole story, slowly nodded.
‘…So that’s what happened.’
Yes, in other words…
‘This is my fault too, huh.’
Feeling awkward, he silently scratched the back of his neck.
The headquarters of the Wudang Sect and the Zhuge Clan were not very far apart.
In a straight line, perhaps about a hundred kilometers.
Naturally, their routes could not help overlapping to some extent, so it was not particularly strange that they had discovered the traces Harley left behind.
In fact, had both sides wanted to, they could have joined up and traveled together even earlier.
‘The reason they didn’t must be grown-up circumstances, I suppose. In any case, those are the martial artists of the Wudang Sect.’
He subtly shifted his gaze toward the leaders of both camps, who were conversing with each other some distance away.
A middle-aged Daoist with a clear and refined appearance was facing a Zhuge Clan elder and speaking with a grave expression.
‘…Transformation Realm? As expected of Wudang, one of the two great pillars of the orthodox murim. Even the level of their leader is different.’
No matter how the Zhuge Clan was not a family famous for martial might, when placed side by side like this, the comparison could not be helped.
With Hugo’s original senses, he would not have been able to notice it at all, but after obtaining 「Heavenly Secret Physique」 not long ago, his qi sense had developed greatly, allowing him to vaguely estimate that level.
‘The skill’s performance is certain. The rate at which I absorb the spirit medicines I had only been stockpiling because digestion was slow has become easily ten times faster. If things keep going like this…’
Just as he was watching the situation unfold with inward satisfaction.
“……!”
Before he knew it, Hugo’s gaze momentarily met the eyes of the Wudang Sect elder, now turned toward him.
Tzzzt—
At the same time that his senses stood sharply on end, goosebumps rose all over his body.
Though it had been an extremely brief instant, he felt as if his entire body had been scanned in a flash.
Immediately afterward, seeing a strange light enter the other man’s eyes, Hugo smiled awkwardly and quietly turned his head.
‘…Ah, I should have managed my gaze properly.’
Because he had just beaten down the Asura Sect Master, who was likewise in the Transformation Realm, he had let his guard down without thinking.
‘But that was only possible because it was Harley. Hugo still has a long way to go.’
If the Profound Realm was a stage beyond humanity, then the Transformation Realm was, in effect, the limit a human could reach.
Hugo, who had not even touched the wall yet, was not an opponent he could dare to approach.
Not yet.
‘Well, from the beginning, Hugo has never learned anything except the techniques of the Ganghwan Realm, so it probably doesn’t matter much. …More importantly, the Wudang Sect, huh. If this goes well.’
The other party not only had the background of Wudang, which alongside Shaolin Temple was the Mount Tai and North Star of the orthodox murim, but was also a Transformation Realm expert who had climbed to a lofty height as a martial artist.
Being able to observe such a man right beside him could be considered a great opportunity in many ways.
‘Of course, my understanding of martial arts is still a bit lacking to recognize it immediately, but over there, there are plenty of teaching materials by level too.’
Just then, the Wudang Sect elder, having finished the conversation, turned and was returning to where his party had gathered.
In that opening, Hugo, paying attention to the management of his gaze and expression, let his eyes sweep over them as though licking past.
‘I wonder if those guys have anything good.’
He had already observed the Zhuge Clan martial artists’ techniques sufficiently, but as expected, there had been nothing particularly appealing from a martial arts perspective.
Of course, he had been able to gain fairly good ideas from their unique battle formations, which fused formations and arcane arts, but what he needed most right now was pure martial arts.
In that sense, the experts of the Wudang Sect could be considered the optimal opponents.
‘If you’ve got something, don’t just use it among yourselves. Share a little.’
More than half the journey still remained before their destination, Shaolin Temple.
And in the current situation, creating the opportunity he needed was not especially difficult for Hugo.
***
“Haa— What a pity. Truly a pity.”
Immediately after finishing his conversation with the Zhuge Clan.
Zhenren Yunxuan, an elder of the Wudang Sect who had returned to where his party was gathered, let out a sigh and shook his head.
“What is the matter? Has some problem perhaps…”
At that, one of the martial artists attending him from the side tilted his head, but Yunxuan did not answer. He quietly closed his eyes and recalled the young man he had seen a moment ago.
Excellent bones and muscles, a fine body that had not neglected training, and profound internal energy unsuited to his age, as if he had consumed no small number of spirit medicines.
Most remarkable of all was that unusual constitution, as though his whole body communicated with the qi of the world.
It was reminiscent of the legendary Void Spirit Physique, which was said to become one with the world and make the limits of internal energy disappear.
‘Of course, it cannot truly be compared to that, but if that young man grows to the end and surpasses his limits, who knows.’
So it could only be a pity.
If raised properly, he would surely become a pillar that would elevate the name of his sect, yet judging from the situation, did he not seem to be a rising junior whom the Zhuge Clan was deliberately nurturing?
Even if they were within the same boundary of the orthodox murim, strictly speaking, they were no different from competitors situated close at hand, so it was not exactly welcome news.
Even if this had been the past, it would have made his stomach twist with envy, and all the more so now, when it was an age of chaos in which the future could not be predicted.
‘However… the problem was that his temperament seemed arrogant.’
Because he had cultivated an orthodox internal energy method that refined the mind, he could vaguely sense it.
That young man considered him, an elder of the Wudang Sect, of little importance… no, not only that, but he was unconsciously looking down on everyone present there.
Rather than specifically belittling anyone, it was a subtle gaze that naturally looked down from above—like one watching a child’s antics.
It was absolutely not a gaze befitting such a young man, unless he were a transcendent absolute master who had reached the Profound Realm.
‘Had he encountered someone with a nasty temper, he would not have survived until now. The Zhuge Clan must have raised him with extraordinary care.’
Perhaps the Zhuge Clan had sent him to such a place in an attempt to correct that aspect of him?
Since his talent was too precious to waste, they might have wanted him to experience the wider world like this and kill that arrogant disposition.
“Hoho, still, I would like to see his skill at least once…”
Zhenren Yunxuan muttered to himself as he stroked his beard.
For some reason, he was a talent who kept bothering him.
Whether he would one day become a giant who led the world, or ultimately be crushed beneath his own talent and fall behind, no one knew.
For now, however, he could not help wanting to confirm just what level of accomplishment he had reached.
“If only I could create an opportunity somehow.”
In the end, he too had arrived at the same thought as someone else, but whose will things would ultimately follow remained to be seen.