《Rise of the Emperor》 Chapter 1: Gray Shadow Sect A/N: Before everyone starts reading the chapter I would like to say a few words. To those who want to ask about Elemental God. Because of various circumstances with the army and my own personal circumstances, I had to take a long hiatus. When I returned I once again looked over the story and was severely disappointed in it myself. There were quite a few mistakes I made grammatically and in the way I wanted to take the story. As such, I decided to not continue writing it at the current moment. Now that''s not saying I will never go back to it though since almost nothing is certain in life and might do a remake but for now I have no plans to do so. I would sincerely like to apologize for not giving any updates to all you and for those who are disappointed that I will not continue it for the new future. Instead I plan to do this new project. This is something I have spent some time considering and going over in my head. It''s also a whole new concept that I''m not familiar in writing with so there''s bound to be a few mistakes. Please leave some comments on your thoughts and if i make any mistakes. ********** ¡°Hey Jong Shin, you know why the lord called for us?¡± As the man named Jong Shin heard his name being mentioned, he stopped walking and turned around to see who the speaker was. What his eyes came across was a young handsome man who looked to be in his mid twenties. The man had short spiky black hair and and relaxed brown eyes. His face made everyone who saw him think that he was a energetic and laid back person at first glance, which really was his personality. Jong Shin was himself a man that many girls would fawn over. Unlike the laid back and handsome man, he had long brown hair and underneath his large glasses were pure green eyes which looked like they were filled with intelligence. He had a young and innocent looking face which many girls thought was very cute. Once he had seen who had spoken to him, he turned back around and began to walk again as he replied. ¡°How should I know, Tae Yang? I just got word that the lord wanted to see us and rushed here.¡± Right as he finished speaking, Jong Shik felt a large weight slam into his body as Tae Yang ran up to him and put his arm around his shoulder. ¡°Sheesh, you could¡¯ve waited for me man. Well then, let¡¯s hurry up and get to the chamber!¡± Jong Shin couldn¡¯t help but to shake his head helplessly and turn his head to look at the energetic Tae Yang who had rushed forward and almost slammed him to the ground. After he released a long sigh, he continued to move forward and the two soon arrived at the main chamber. When the two entered the chamber, they saw that two men were already inside waiting. One of them stood in front of a seated man and wore a set of armor and was carrying a large single edged halberd. In between the gap of his helmet, they were able to see a handsome expressionless face which no one could tell what he was thinking. At the end of the hall, another young man sat on a large cushioned chair. He had short black hair and gray eyes that looked sharp and cold. Just by looking at him, people could tell that he gave off a different vibe than a regular person, a noble like aura that made other think that he was simply above the others. As Jong Shin and Tae Yang entered, they quickly took their own place beside the expressionless man and the three together bowed and greeted the man sitting in front of them. ¡°We greet the lord¡± The young man who looked no older than his early twenties was none other than the lord of the Gray Shadow Sect,Yim Shin Yong. As he gazed at the men in front of him, he couldn¡¯t help but feel deep pride. These people were his closest aides and friends. Yang Jong Shin, the genius military strategist for the Gray Shadow Sect. Lee Tae Yang, the commander of the Death Sword God division. Kim Sung Woo, the commander of the Speared Cavalry division. And lastly, hidden behind him in the shadow Yong Moon Geun, the captain of his Gray Shadow Guards. These four people, who were all under the age of twenty five, and himself, who was twenty eight, made up the core of the Gray Shadow Sect, one of the three major alliances of the Yaesul continent. After a few moments, he finally began to speak to the three in front of him. ¡°Tae Yang, you start with your report first.¡± ¡°Yes, my lord. The current state of the army has become very stable now. Not only have we finished restructuring the ranks and hierarchy, many recruits and talented individuals have begun to join. We now have two hundred thousand foot soldiers, one hundred and twenty thousand free archers, and eighty thousand pikemen who have completed the retraining.¡± ¡°Good, are there any issues?¡± ¡°No, my lord. We have more than enough supplies and equipment at the moment. We do, however, need to look into getting funds for getting some brand new equipment in the future as some of the equipment is getting old.¡± ¡°Okay. Next, Sung Woo. What¡¯s your status?¡± ¡°My lord, the Speared Cavalry is ready to move at your call anytime. Our eighty thousand soldiers are fully trained and equipped.¡± ¡°Sounds good. Finally Jong Shin, anything new to report?¡± ¡°My lord, the vast majority of the sects in our alliance have finally calmed down and pledged allegiance to us. It takes time, after all, to regroup and stabilize the alliance after a war. Also, even though there was a lot of dissent toward it, the law about where martial artists and soldiers were not allowed to harm any civilians has been emplaced. Even though there are a few who do not follow the law still, we are making an example out of them as we catch them. Overall, I would say that the results are very satisfactory so far for only a year having gone by since the end of our war.¡± As Shin Yong heard the reports, he nodded his head and inwardly was very satisfied with their progress. The war that had taken three years to take over the Gray Shadow Sect had been long and gruesome, but the benefits were finally coming into fruition. ¡°Everything¡¯s going well. Alright, the real reason I called all of you here is to talk about our next phase.¡± Once he saw that none of them were going to say anything, he then dropped a bomb on them all. ¡°My dream is to unify all three alliances and control the whole continent.¡± The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Once the bomb was dropped, all of them showed an expression of shock and were dumbfounded. Even Sung Woo, who almost never showed any expression, opened his mouth wide in surprise at the words. In the history of the Yaeseul continent, there had never been any period of time where the continent had been unified under just one banner. The reason for this was because this didn¡¯t just require strength. There was no way the other sides would stay still if one sect or group tried to take control as that meant they would lose all their wealth and power. Not only did you need to have enough strength, you also had to have political strength and a strong enough reputation where people would not rise up in revolt. Shin Yong¡¯s lips slightly curved upward when he saw the expressions of his closest aides. After a few minutes of dead silence, Jong Shin finally spoke up. ¡°My lord, may I ask you question?¡± ¡°Sure, go ahead Jong Shin.¡± ¡°Why do you want to unify all the alliances?¡± When Shin Yong saw how serious Jong Shin¡¯s expression was, he finally smiled and replied. ¡°Because it¡¯s my dream.¡± ¡°Huh? My lord, can you say that again? I don¡¯t think I heard you right.¡± Tae Yang had an expression as if he couldn¡¯t believe what he just heard when he heard Shin Yong¡¯s explanation.¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s my dream.¡± While Tae Yang had a bewildered look on his face, Jong Shin once again spoke seriously. ¡°My lord, we all know how strong you are, but unifying the three alliances isn¡¯t just about strength. You also need a strong reputation and use political means¡­.¡± ¡°I know, Jong Shin. That¡¯s why i¡¯m telling you all. From now on I¡¯m relying on you to plan how we go forward and meet those requirements. Well then, gentlemen. I¡¯m off to go train. If you need me, I¡¯ll be in my training grounds.¡± As he said those words, Shin Yong stood and left the chamber. A few seconds after he had passed them, the three felt a slight breeze as Moon Geun stealthily passed them and followed the lord who had left the room. ***** ¡°The lord is crazy, I say. Crazy! Unify all three alliances and take over the continent? No one¡¯s ever done it! Only children think of such dreams!¡± Yong Shin, Tae Yang, and Sun Woo were currently watching Shin Yong train from a couple hundred of yards away. As they watched him go through each step of his martial skill, Tae Yang was loudly speaking. ¡°Be more quiet, Tae Yang! Don¡¯t cause a ruckus while the lord is training.¡± ¡°Oi, am I the only one who thinks the lord is crazy?!¡± Letting out a sigh, Jong Shin finally replied. ¡°Well, the dream is pretty lofty. Still, that¡¯s what I like about our lord. He aims for things that seem impossible but yet still achieves them. Take, for example, the new rule.The Gray Shadow Sect has always been disdained because our members do what they want and only care about their own personal strength. Even though everyone thought it was impossible to make everyone stop harassing and harming the civilians, our lord has made them stop.¡± ¡°...Haa, what about you Sun Woo? Surely you¡¯ll agree with me, right?!¡± ¡°I will follow the lord even if he wishes to go against the Gods.¡± ¡°God damn it! Am I the only sane person here?!?! Haa¡­ still the lord sure is crazy about training himself.¡± ¡°Oi, you¡¯re the leader of the Death Sword God division. Shouldn¡¯t you be training just as hard?¡± ¡°...Don¡¯t try to put me under the same category as the lord, Jong Shin. The amount of time he spends training is inhuman. There¡¯s no way anyone can catch up to him in that. Right Sun Woo?¡± Sun Woo nodded his head in agreement. Even though he also trained himself sternly, there was no way he could compare to Shin Yong who spent any time he had available to train. There was a limit to how much one could train, but it simply didn¡¯t seem to exist for the lord. While those three continued to talk, Shin Yong was completely focused on training. For him, the time he was most relaxed was when he trained. To him, training was the most reassuring thing since as long as he put in the effort, he would receive the benefits no matter what. In his own personal experience, he believed that as long as he put the effort in, nothing could stand in his way. The reason he had been able to reach his position was through all the effort he had put in. ***** After having completed his training, Shin Yong and Jong Shin left the sect and headed south. Once the sun started to set, they stopped at a town and reserved a floor to rest. Currently, they were all in their rooms and sleeping in preparation of their long travel tomorrow. While Shin Yong was sleeping soundly deep into the night, he abruptly stood up. At night he always spread out senses to his surroundings so that he would be able to sense if anyone approached and would wake up instantly. After he had rubbed his eyes a few times, he started to walk toward the door where he had sensed the presence. Just as he was about to open the door, it suddenly opened by itself and he was abruptly pushed backward. Even though all this suddenly occurred, he remained calm even though there was a sword below his chin now. The reason he stayed calm was because he wasn¡¯t able to sense any bloodlust and knew that the person who wielded the sword wasn¡¯t planning on harming him. Even if that person was, he was confident in himself enough to believe he could make quick work of them easily. As the invader finally finished pushing him backwards when they were in front of the window. He finally saw who the intruder was. His eyes opened slightly wider in surprise when he saw the assailant. The assailant was a beautiful girl. More beautiful than any girl he had ever seen. She had long black hair that reached her lower back and round blue eyes. Her face was so small that he felt he could cover it with only a fist. As he looked at her, he couldn¡¯t help but be slightly dazed and think one thought. ¡¯How beautiful¡¯ This would eventually be the first meeting between the lord of the Gray Shadow Sect and the leader of the Divine Sword Sect and the start of their fate. Chapter 2: Jong Shin As Shin Yong stared at his assailant¡¯s beautiful face, the female raised her left index finger to her mouth before speaking in a silent voice. ¡°Sssh. I¡¯m very sorry for barging in so suddenly in the middle of the night, but I need to use your window to get out.¡± While her voice rang out, Shin Yong couldn¡¯t help but feel as if they sounded like a calm stream. Still, even though he was in that kind of situation and having those thoughts, he sensed four figures rushing over to the room. ¡°You¡¯re being chased, huh?¡± At the sudden revelation, the lady¡¯s eyes opened wide in surprise before she quickly replied. ¡°How¡¯d you know? Anyways, I¡¯m really sorry but I have to leave before they arrive. That way, you¡¯ll be safe too.¡± With those final words, she hastily opened the window beside them and rushed out. While he watched the lady leave with a bewildered expression, the four figures finally arrived at the door of his room and entered with caution. After they made sure no one else was in the door, they finally focused their attention on Shin Yong. One of the figures then stepped forward and spoke in an intimidating manner. ¡°Where¡¯d the girl run off to?¡± ¡°As you can see, she just left through the window.¡± Even though he had been slightly mesmerized by the lady who had just escaped, he had no plans to protect her. She really had nothing to do with him, after all. Also, even though she said that¡¯d he be protecting by leaving more quickly, he knew that they wouldn¡¯t leave him be after he saw them. ¡°I see. Anyways since you have seen us, we really can¡¯t leave you alive. If you stay still we¡¯ll make sure you have a painless death.¡± As the man said that the four figures silently walked forward. Seeing their actions, Shin Yong let loose a sigh. He couldn¡¯t understand why assassins always said those kind of corny comments before they killed someone. When the four were only five yards away, Shin Yong finally went into action as his left hand moved forward in a very quick motion. Even before they four could comprehend that the action occurred, two thud sounds appeared within their ranks as two bodies fell to the ground. When the man who had spoken earlier looked back to see the cause of the sound, he saw two of his colleagues on the ground with lifeless eyes. Right in the middle of the chest, in the exact location where their hearts were, stood two small daggers. ¡°Shi¡­¡± Just as he was about to yell in surprise, the rest of the words stopped in his threat, never to come out. Surprised, he looked down as he saw a fountain of blood spurt out from his below his chin. Even as he comprehended that his throat had been slashed through, his body had already crumbled to the ground. While his vision was becoming blurry, he saw that the sole survivor out of the four had also hit the floor with a fountain of blood flowing out his throat right after he had fallen. Shin Yong, who had taken another dagger out from his clothes with his right hand, had moved immediately after his throwing daggers had hit the first two targets. When those two bodies had fallen, he had already arrived where the two were and slashed through their necks in a short moment. All of these events occurred in less than three seconds. Once he confirmed all four assailants were dead, he slashed downward once to remove the blood drops from his dagger. One could see that on the blade of the dagger the word behemoth carved on it. After putting the dagger back into his shirt and retrieving the two throwing daggers, he finally spoke out to the empty room. ¡°Moon Geun, take care of these corpses.¡± ¡°Yes, my lord.¡± As those words were spoken, a figure materialized behind Shin Yong. It was his personal guard and captain of the Gray Shadow Guards, Moon Geun. He had been in the room all along. The only reason he had not shown himself was that he had been able to tell how skillful the assassins were at a glance and knew that Shin Yong would dispose of them easily by himself. As Moon Geun walked forward, he retrieved a vial from inside his clothes and dropped the contents on the corpses. As the liquid touched the body, the clothes, skin, and bones quickly decomposed. The contents of the vial was a certain type of acid that the Gray Shadow Sect produced that could quickly decompose a body, not even leaving any ashes. The acid was known as Void Acid. After the bodies had decomposed, leaving no mark of the prior battle, Moon Geun bowed before he slowly faded into the darkness. While his guard had been taking care of the bodies Shin Yong had moved back to the window and taken a seat in the chair that was in front of it. Looking out the window he watched the stars up in the cloudless sky as they sparkled brightly, illuminating the dark night. He also thought about why such a beautiful lady would have assassins chasing her but that thought immediately into the winds. ***** The next day, Shin Yong, Jong Shin, and the guards once again set off right as the sun was rising. As they continued heading south, Jong Shin started to think about how he had first met Shin Yong. On that day, Jong Shin remembered how he had tried to stand up to some martial artists who had been talking about his girlfriend with vulgar words and grotesque expressions. While trying to defend his girlfriend¡¯s honor, he had been badly beaten up by those martial artists. After they had enough fun, they had left him on the ground with a swollen face and went to a bar for some drinks. Just as he was cursing his own lack of strength and how he couldn¡¯t do anything, a voice had spoken up. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°It¡¯s infuriating that you¡¯re not strong enough to defend yourself or the ones you love, huh? Grab my hand and become my person. If you do I promise you that you¡¯ll no longer be a weakling and will have the strength to protect the things that are important to you.¡± As those words rang out in the surrounding, a hand appeared in front of him. When he looked up, he saw the younger Shin Yong. Confused at first, he looked at Shin Yong with questioning eyes. Shin Yong though, continued to stay in the same posture that seemed to be asking what is he hesitating over? Hurry up and grab my hand so that you can gain sufficient enough power. After thinking it over a little, he finally made up his mind and firmly grabbed the hand that Shin Yong had reached out with. Smiling, he had pulled up the now determined Jong Shin. ¡¯That¡¯s when my fate started to change, huh? It sure is crazy how just one incident can change someone¡¯s fate¡¯ As he was having that thought and recollecting that moment, a voice spoke out from the door of the carriage he was in. ¡°My lord, we have arrived at the destination.¡± When the guard opened in the door, Shin Yong and Jong Shin stepped out the door. Once he saw where they were, Jong Shin¡¯s eyes opened wide in surprise as he suddenly began to stutter out a sentence. ¡°My.. my lord.. this.. this place is¡­¡± The place that they had arrived at was a tiny cottage that was near a cliff. The cottage looked a little beat up but was still clean and well kept. The scenery was nice as the grass swayed with the light draft of wind that was on the cliff. When he saw Jong Shin¡¯s expression and how he was stuttering, Shin Yong lightly laughed. ¡°You¡¯ve been away from her for four years now. It¡¯s time you reunited with her.¡± ¡°Bu..but my lord it¡¯s been four years. I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll take me back..¡± ¡°Where¡¯d the confidence of my military strategist go? Hurry up and go inside to reclaim your lover proudly.¡± As he said that, Shin Yong slightly pushed Jong Shin forward to the door of the cottage. After looking back and seeing that Shin Yong was waving his hand for him to go inside, Jong Shin let a long sigh loose before he entered the cottage. After a few moments of silence, loud noises erupted from the house, startling the guards. A couple of minutes afterwards, Jong Shin left the cottage with a large hand mark on his right cheek. With a dejected look, he stopped in front of Shin Yong. ¡°My lord, she said to never appear in front of her again.¡± ¡°¡­How can you just leave like that? Hurry up and go back in!¡± While he said that, Shin Yong once again pushed Jong Shin toward the cottage. With his head hung low, he once again entered the cottage. Right as he entered the cottage, even larger noises escaped from the cottage before Jong Shin ran out the cottage again and stood dejectedly in front of Shin Yong again. In unison with his right cheek, there was now a large hand mark on his left cheek. ¡°My lord. She said that if I ever show up in front of her again that she would kill me.¡± ¡°Haa¡­ show her your manly side! Don¡¯t even think of leaving that cottage again unless it¡¯s with Seul Gi!¡± Once again, he pushed Jong Shin back to the cottage. After he had released a depressing sigh, he entered the cottage and the sounds once again appeared. Shin Yong, who stayed in the same position, let a light smile appear on his face. Truthfully, he felt really bad for both Jong Shin and Seul Gi. If it wasn¡¯t for him, the two would have stayed together here the whole time and lived happily. The two had to separate for a whole four years because he had taken Jong Shin with him so that he could take over the position of Sect Leader of the Gray Shadow Sect. Even though he didn¡¯t allow himself to fall in love with any woman, that didn¡¯t mean he wished to put the same fate on his subordinates. They should at least fall in love and be with the ones they loved. While he had those thoughts, Shin Yong raised his head and started to stare at the large blue sky up above. Around ten minutes after he had entered, Jong Shin finally exited the cottage. This time, a female accompanied him out. The girl was plain looking, wearing a green dress that looked a little worn out. She had plain brown hair along with green eyes. As she walked out, she spotted Shin Yong and her gaze became a lot darker. When he saw her gaze, Shin Yong smiled helplessly. Of course she was still mad at him. He had, after all, taken her lover away to go fight in a war. After he slightly nodded his head to greet her, he turned to Jong Shin and spoke. ¡°You two should have a lot to talk about. I¡¯m going to head back first. Make sure to come back with Seul Gi to the palace in a couple days.¡± After saying those, Shin Yong turned around and entered the carriage before the entourage turned around and headed back to the palace. Chapter 3: Bullying ¡°My lord, the three great merchant clans sent a letter stating that they will not pay the alliance¡¯s taxes anymore. They request for you to come to their estate to negotiate.¡± It had now been a few weeks after Shin Yong had left Jong Shin and Seul Gi. A couple days later, the couple returned to the palace together and Jong Shin continued with his tasks (PR note: bet he was a bit distracted though...if ya know what I mean) as the Sect¡¯s strategist. At that moment, Jong Shin was reporting to Shin Yong about the letter which had arrived that morning from the three great merchant clans within the Gray Shadow Sect. When he heard the contents of the letter, the tips of Shin Yong¡¯s lips lifted into a cruel smile. ¡°Oh ho¡­ not only do they have the guts to refuse to pay taxes; they even want me to go to their place, huh?¡± At the sight of Shin Yong¡¯s sinister smile, shivers ran through Tae Yang¡¯s body. ¡°Oh shit, the lord¡¯s really mad. They¡¯re fucked.¡± Right beside him, Sung Woo slightly nodded his head in agreement. Jong Shin slightly panicked at the expression and tried to calm Shin Yong. ¡°My lord, you mustn¡¯t be hasty about how you handle this situation! The three great merchant clans are a vital part of our alliance¡¯s economy. If we just destroy them, the economy will be ruined, and it will be a major blow to us!¡± ¡°Hu hu hu¡­ don¡¯t worry I won¡¯t take such ridiculous actions. Since they asked us to go, we will. Jong Shin, be prepared to head out this afternoon, we¡¯ll go see what those damn old geezers have to say.¡± Jong Shin visibly showed a relieved expression at Shin Yong¡¯s word. After saying those words, he stood up and headed toward the exit. Just as everyone in the chamber breathed a sigh of relief, Shin Yong stopped and without even turning around, said words that made Tae Yang and Sung Woo shiver. ¡°Oh yeah, it¡¯s been a while since I sparred with you two. Let¡¯s have a light warm up in the training ground.¡± After saying those lines, a smirk appeared on Shin Yong¡¯s face as he left the chamber. In contrast, Tae Yang¡¯s face paled and became panicked. ¡°Oi! The lord is planning on bullying us and beating us up to release his anger, isn¡¯t he?!?! Hey Sung Woo, say something!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to spar with the lord. I was always envious that he sparred with you.¡± When he heard Sung Woo reply with an expressionless face, Tae Yang¡¯s face seemed to be asking if he was on crack. ¡°That¡¯s just because you¡¯ve never been on the receiving end of his bullying! You don¡¯t understand how much that shit hurts!¡± ****** After he had ranted for over ten minutes, Tae Yang finally resigned himself to his fate and the three of them went to Shin Yong¡¯s training ground. When they arrived, they saw Shin Yong sitting down on the platform floor and meditating. Not wanting to disturb him, the three silently waited for him to complete his meditation. A few minutes later, Shin Yong slowly opened his eyes and stood up. When they saw him stand up, Sung Woo and Tae Yang walked onto the platform. Sung Woo looked somewhat excited while Tae Yang looked like he was being forcefully pushed forward and had a dejected expression. Once they got onto the platform, Shin Yong nodded his head. ¡°Alright then. The two of you come at me with everything you got. Don¡¯t even think about going easy because if you do, I can¡¯t guarantee your lives.¡± While he said that, he reached inside his shirt and pulled Behemoth and a regular dagger out. At that sight, Sung Woo got into a fighting position with his halberd while Tae Yang let one more depressed sigh out before he drew his sword from behind his back and also got serious. Without a signal, the two rushed forward at the exact same moment. Sung Woo went left and when Shin Yong was in range, he immediately swung his halberd in an arch aiming for his legs. Tae Yang, on the other hand went right and leapt forward to stab at Shin Yong¡¯s chest. Even though the two hadn¡¯t practiced synchronization together, they attacked at the same time, leaving no room for Shin Yong to dodge. When he saw their combination, a smirk appeared on Shin Yong¡¯s face as he deflected the sword with Behemoth while also stomping down with his right foot onto the halberd and caused it to slam into the ground. Using the force, he jumped backward with a back spin and jumped forward to counter attack. Jong Shin, who stayed off to the side and watched the spar, wasn¡¯t able to help but sigh in admiration at the fight. Not only were both Sung Woo and Tae Yang very strong on their own, but their combination was almost perfect even though they had never practiced it. Their attacks always overlapped and the vast majority of martial artists would have fallen within the five turns no matter how strong they were. Shin Yong, on the other hand, was one of the few who could cope with those attacks. Not only that, he was counterattacking and leaving bruises all over the two of them as he hit them with the flat of the dagger blades and hilts. ¡¯Yeah, this is the strength of the lord I serve. Even though there are still a select few stronger than him, he¡¯s only twenty eight while those people are all old. In the near future he will surpass them all and stand alone at the top.¡¯ After the spar had gone on for around ten minutes, Tae Yang finally wasn¡¯t able to handle it and flopped down onto the ground all battered and exhausted while loudly yelling. ¡°I can¡¯t take it anymore! Lord, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s too petty of you to bully the weak?!¡± When Tae Yang plopped down to the ground, Sung Woo and Shin Yong also stopped. Sung Woo was breathing heavily while there were visible bruises all over his body. Shin Yong, on the other hand, seemed fine and was only breathing a little more heavily than normal. When he saw Tae Yang who threw a tantrum, a smile appeared on his face and he spoke. ¡°We¡¯ll be heading over to the merchant clan¡¯s house shortly so get ready. Tae Yang, you¡¯ll also be coming so get ready.¡± After saying those words, he turned and went toward his residence. When he saw Shin Yong leave, Tae Yang stood back up and looked furious as he grinded his teeth and spoke. ¡°Those god damn merchant bastards. I got bullied by the lord because they made him angry. Just wait till I get my hands on them.¡± Beside him, the emotionless Sung Woo nodded his head. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ***** ¡°Master, the Gray Shadow Sect Lord has come.¡± ¡°Oh ho, that youngling has finally came, huh? Bring them over here.¡± When the servant heard what the Merchant clan head said, he momentarily thought that he heard wrong. ¡°You said to bring them here, master? You¡¯re not going to go greet them?¡± ¡°Why should I go greet some young hatchling? This is a good time to show him who is more superior.¡± The servant was shocked when he heard what his master said. Still, it was his command after all so he went back out and passed the message along. ¡°My lord, master said that he will greet you all in the audience hall.¡± ¡°What?! The clan head dares to not only refuse to come out and greet us but to make us go meet him in the audience hall?¡± Jong Shin was shocked at how audacious the merchant clan leader was being. Even if he wanted to break ties with them by not paying taxes, Shin Yong was still the lord of the Gray Shadow Sect. When he saw that Jong Shin was about to continue on, Shin Yong raised his hand and stopped him from continuing on before he motioned for the servant to lead them forward. As they walked toward the audience hall, a vicious smile slowly formed on his face. When the entourage arrived at the audience hall, they saw that the clan leader was laying sideways on a fluffy blanket. On his left side stood a well-built middle aged man that had a scar on the right side of his face. He wore a sleeveless vest from which his thick arms protruded out. On the opposite side stood two elder figures who wore white robes. The both of them were twins and were very difficult to distinguish. Shin Yong instantly recognized those people as they were well known. A smirk appeared for an instant before disappearing just as quickly. ¡¯Ho¡­ so that¡¯s the reason you acted so cocky, huh?¡¯ ¡°Lord Shin Yong, I thank you for coming to my humble abode. As my back has been acting up lately. I have to lay down like this to comfort it. I ask for your understanding of this.¡± An arrogant smile was on the clan leader¡¯s face as he spoke to Shin Yong. Shortly after, he began to introduce the people beside him. ¡°I¡¯d like to introduce you to some of my guests my lord. The two people on my right are famous swordsman known as the Devil Twins. I¡¯m sure you have heard of their great exploits before. To my left, is the famous ¡°Close Quarter¡± King, Ryu Won.¡± The Devil Twins were two swordsman who roamed the lands without being affiliated with any of the three alliances. They were rumored to be very skilled with the flexible sword and defeated countless foes. They were given the nickname ¡°Devil Twins¡± because of their ruthlessness and dirty tricks. The Close Quarter King was even more renown than the previous two. Using only his fists and legs, he was rumored to be the strongest mercenary. Some people even believed he was the leader of all the mercenaries. While Shin Yong remember all the information about the three, the clan leader continued on. ¡°Lord, the reason I called you hear is to discuss a certain matter. We, the three great merchant clans, believe that the taxes on us are too heavy. We can¡¯t afford to pay the taxes anymore.¡± When he heard what the clan leader said, his expression became cold. ¡°You¡¯re trying to tell us to lower the tax?¡± When he saw Shin Yong¡¯s expression, the clan leader laughed.¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s not exactly it. What I¡¯m trying to say is that we won¡¯t pay the Gray Shadow Sect taxes anymore. We also want full autonomy for our sections.¡± ¡°Clan leader! Don¡¯t you think you are asking for too much?¡± When Jong Shin heard what the clan leader said, he exclaimed out loud in anger. In response, the clan leader dropped all pretense of formality and replied back in anger. ¡°You stinking brat, shut up! If I say we¡¯re not going to pay taxes, and we will receive autonomy for our section, we will!¡± ¡°Do you think you can just threaten us because you brought those three here?¡± ¡°Of course I do! But not only do I have these three people who can easily dispatch of you all, I still have my soldiers!¡± With those words, people started to pour into the audience hall. In total fifty martial artist appeared in the hall in the space between the two groups and all faced toward them. ¡°What can you do but accept my terms with this type of force?¡± As the clan leader said that and started to laugh wildly, Shin Yong finally spoke up.. ¡°Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re putting way too much confidence in these people?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± At those sudden words, the clan leader stopped laughing and looked at Shin Yong with a confused face. Jong Shin, on the other hand, sighed in relief. ¡¯Ah, the lord is still calm and confident in this situation. Of course just this force wouldn¡¯t be able to scare the lord.¡¯ While Jong Shin thought like that, the ground started to rumble. Startled, the people in the hall thought at first it was a minor earthquake, but the ground rumbled more loudly as time went on and the sound of horse hoofs slowly became louder. Soon, the sounds were thunderous as numerous people on horseback surrounded the estate. Jong Shin, startled, looked out the window and saw several soldiers who wore the special army armor provided to the soldiers of the Gray Shadow Sect and who carried spears. Surprised by their sudden appearance, he looked over to Shin Yong and spoke. ¡°My lord, when did you call the Speared Cavalry over? Wait a second, you were planning on destroying the merchant clan from the start?! Also, I thought just now you were confident because you could take them on yourself!¡± Shin Yong turned around and looked at Jong Shin with a confused face while he replied. ¡°When did I say I was confident I could take them on? Sung Woo.¡± ¡°Yes, my lord!¡± When Shin Yong shouted out loud, one of the horseman went forward. It was the leader of the Speared Cavalry and one of his closest aides, Sung Woo. While he was viciously smiling at the clan leader, Shin Yong gave a quick command. ¡°Destroy them.¡± ¡°I obey the lord¡¯s command. Speared Cavalry division! Charge!¡± Chapter 4: Massacre A/N: Merry Christmas everyone! I hope that everyone has a great holiday. Here is a new chapter. I''m planning on releasing two chapters tomorrow for Christmas. Once again I would ask you all to leave comments and reviews with your opinion on the story. Also, on another note as my PR is with his family for the holidays I had to PR this so please excuse the errors >.> ***** When the words left Shin Yong¡¯s mouth, the clan leader¡¯s face paled. The soldiers were from the Speared Cavalry Division, one of the strongest forces on the whole continent, after all. His own troops couldn¡¯t be compared at all against these battle hardened elite troops. Beside him, his three guests expressions also darkened. They hadn¡¯t thought that the situation would become like this. The clan leader had said that all they needed to do was be present to intimidate the young alliance leader. Still, they were confident enough in being able to escape with their skills. ¡°Moon Geun, watch over Jong Shin.¡± As the Speared Cavalry Division rushed forth, Shin Yong gave Moon Geun a command before he rushed forth to engage in combat with the Ryu Won. At the same time, Tae Yang and Sung Woo also ran to engage with the Devil Twins. Moon Geun suddenly appeared and placed Jong Shin behind him. Even though he should always be beside Shin Yong to protect him, he knew that it would better for him to protect Jong Shin so that the lord could fight with no worries. While he rushed forth, Shin Yong pulled Behemoth out from his shirt. Ryu Won, seeing the scene, sneered as he also ran forward and let loose a punch. The punch was so strong and sharp that wherever the fist passed, the wind split. Still, Shin Yong remained unfazed and effortlessly dodged to the left and evaded the fist. While he slipped past, Shin Yong slashed with Behemoth and left a small cut on Ryu Won¡¯s bicep. Even though he was aiming to cut through the muscle, he found, to his surprise, that the muscle was a lot more sturdy than he expected it to be and was only able to leave a small cut. When the two stopped moving forward, Ryu Won looked down at his biceps in surprise. His muscles were several times more sturdy than regular people, enough to almost be considered an armor. Even though he hadn¡¯t used Ki to strengthen his muscles, most people still wouldn¡¯t be able to leave a scratch, let alone a cut, on his skin. As he turned around to face Shin Yong, his expression became more grim. He now understood that even though his opponent was young, he couldn¡¯t dare underestimate him or it would cost him his life. Shin Yong, on the other hand, had a carefree expression as he waited for Ryu Won to turn around. In his hand, Behemoth began to release a red aura on it¡¯s surface. ¡°Hoo¡­ That¡¯s quite the dagger you have there.¡± ¡°Behemoth would be perfect if it wasn¡¯t for it¡¯s personality.¡± In this world, there were a few exceptionally made weapons that would have a conscious. Even though it wasn¡¯t to the point of being intelligent and speaking, they had emotions and the user could sense it whenever they poured their Ki into the weapon. At the moment, Behemoth was expressing it¡¯s excitement and bloodlust after tasting Ryu Won¡¯s blood. After a few moments of silence between the two, Shin Yong once again spoke. ¡°I have heard quite a lot of stories of your exploits, Close Quarter King. Finally meeting you though, I have to say that I¡¯m disappointed. I thought you would be a lot stronger. I was looking forward to a good fight too.¡± ¡°What¡¯d you say, brat?!¡± When he heard what Shin Yong, Ryu Won was angered. He was a very famous figure among martial artists and had pride, after all. Still, here was a young man who didn¡¯t even look like he was in his mid twenties, saying that he was disappointed in him as if he wasn¡¯t even a worthy opponent from him. How could he not become angered? ¡°Anyways, aren¡¯t you embarrassed of yourself? Even though you¡¯re rumored to be the king of the mercenaries, taking such petty money and doing such a despicable job, if I was you I wouldn¡¯t be able to show my face to anyone.¡± ¡°You¡¯re seeking death, brat!¡± Not being able to take it anymore, Ryu Won rushed forward while he released his ki. Shin Yong had touched upon his weak spot. Usually, he would have never taken on a job like this as it was indeed shameless and despicable, but this time he didn¡¯t have any choice. His daughter had caught a rare disease and the clan leader was one of the few people that had the herbs needed to cure it. In exchange of the herbs, he swore that he would become his bodyguard. Even though it went against his morals and it would ruin his reputation, he still gritted his teeth and agreed for his daughter¡¯s sake. It really was astounding what a parent could do for their child. A smile appeared on Shin Yong¡¯s face when he saw Ryu Won rush forward. He had been trying to anger him on purpose. Even though it was a little underhanded, Shin Yong was the type of person who would use any method possible to gain an upper hand in battle regardless of how despicable they were. As Ryu Won got within five feet of him, he also rushed in to meet him. Whenever Shin Yong swung Behemoth, blood flowed. Arms, legs, and the upper body, no part of the body was safe from his attacks. Whenever there was the slightest opening, Shin Yong took advantage and ruthlessly attacked it. At first, Ryu Won thought that once they began to use ki, he would have the upper advantage as his skin would be a lot more hardened, but to his shock he found that his wounds were a lot deeper now. It felt as though his muscles were just like piece of paper and Behemoth would easily slash through them. Also, he found that Shin Yong was a lot quicker than him. No matter how he tried, he wasn¡¯t able to land a blow on him. Fists, shoulder, elbows, knees, and feet, no matter which body part he used to attack, none of them hit. While he was growing uneasy, he released a roundhouse kick with all his strength. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Seeing an opening, Shin Yong ducked under the kick and slashed through Ryu Won¡¯s left Achilles¡¯ heel. Losing strength in his left leg, Ryu Won crumpled down onto his knee. Without the slightest hesitation, Shin Yong slashed forward and cut through his throat. While Ryu Won stared at him with wide eyes of shock and surprise, Shin Yong turned around and walked away. A moment later, the light in his eyes disappeared and his body fell forward, never to stand again. Just like that, the famed Close Quarter King fell to the hand of the leader of the Gray Shadow Sect. As he walking away, Shin Yong surveyed the surrounding area. The battle between the soldiers was coming to an end as the Speared Cavalry Division was massacring the clan leader¡¯s soldiers; they simply could not compare to the famed Speared Cavalry Division. Tae Yang and Sung Woo were still in an intense battle between the Devil Twins. Satisfied with the situation, he started to walk back to where Jong Shin and Moon Geun was. While Shin Yong was walking back, he suddenly stopped and flinched. In front of him was the scene where Jong Shin had a large smile on his face. Also, his eyes were shining brightly as though he was looking at a legendary figure. Cautiously, he began to walk forward once again. Not noticing at all his behavior, once he got close, Jong Shin began to talk with excitement. ¡°As expected from you, my lord! Not even the Close Quarter King was a match for you! Anyways, why¡¯d you come over here, my lord? Aren¡¯t you going to go help Tae Yang and Sung Woo out?¡± ¡°If they weren¡¯t able to handle weaklings like the Devil Twins, they wouldn¡¯t be qualified to be my men.¡± Even though the words seemed harsh initially, Jong Shin was able to tell that Shin Yong was just that confident in them. As if those words signified the end, the battle started to come to a conclusion. Shortly after those words were spoken, Sung Woo finally found an opening and stabbed his halberd forward through his enemy¡¯s chest. As he pulled his halberd out, blood spurted out and the opponent collapsed to the ground. Seeing his twin fall, the other became startled and rushed toward him. ¡°Hyung nim!¡± (A/N: Hyung nim is formal korean for older brother) As his enemy turned his back to him, Tae Yang didn¡¯t let the opportunity go and stabbed his heart from behind. As the sword was drawn back, the opponent fell onto the floor. Just like how they came into the world together, the Devil Twins both passed onto the netherworld together. Shortly after, the battle between the soldiers also came to an end. All of the clan leader¡¯s had been killed while the Speared Cavalry Division suffered three casualties. Seeing the carnage in front of him, the clan leader began to hastily rise up and stuttered. ¡°My.. my lord¡­¡± While he was getting up, Shin Yong slashed forward with Behemoth and slit the clan leader¡¯s throat. As the clan leader began to fall, he looked at Shin Yong¡¯s cold figure with eyes of disbelief. Just as he hit the floor, his eyes lost their brightness and he passed on. ¡°Moon Geun, make it seem as though they all died through an internal conflict.¡± ¡°Yes, my lord.¡± Bowing at Shin Yong to acknowledge the command, Moon Geun began moving around the corpses and cut them in various places with his sword while also removing other marks. After he saw Moon Geun get into action, Shin Yong turned to Jong Shin and issued another command. ¡°Jong Shin, I want you to find someone we can control to take over as the new clan leader.¡± ¡°I have received your command, my lord.¡± With a bow, Jong Shin replied to Shin Yong¡¯s command. Satisfied, Shin Yong walked toward the exit. Following after him were Tae Yang, Sung Woo, and the Speared Cavalry Division. Swiftly, the audience hall was emptied and left behind with no living beings. ***** While he was sitting cross legged on the bed, Shin Yong slowly opened his eyes. For the past hour, he had been circulating his ki around his body, slowly strengthening his muscles, veins, and bones. Not wasting even a moment, he was training even though he was staying at an inn. Standing up, he stretched his body before he walked over to the window and sat in a chair. While he stared at the starry sky, he went over everything that happened earlier at the merchant clan leader¡¯s estate. Now that the clan leader was been disposed of, Jong Shin had selected the new clan leader and fed him a Death God pill. The Death God pill was a poison that wasn¡¯t able to be detected and stayed dormant in the body for one month. Once one month passed, the poison would rush through the body and cause a painful death. Thus, once a month the clan leader would have to come see them to receive an antidote that only they had the formula, for the rest of his life. Using this method, the clan leader would never dare betray them or have any other thoughts as they can just not give him the antidote and he would die a painful death. Satisfied with the result of today, Shin Yong once again to think about what they needed to do from now on so they could take a step forward toward his dream. He knew all too well that the road ahead of them would be a long and arduous road filled with blood and corpses. Still, he didn¡¯t mind at all and thought because of that it was worthwhile to walk down it. As his mind was complicated with those thoughts, he saw a shadow move swiftly on the roofs of the building in front of him. Behind that shadow were ten other shadows that swiftly followed it. Even though he hadn¡¯t been paying much attention, he had very sharp eyesight and had been able to see the face of the shadow that was being chased. ¡°Eh? Isn¡¯t that¡­.¡± He was surprised to see that face once again. After contemplating for a slight moment, the edges of his slips started rise slightly as he opened the window and swiftly followed after the fleeting shadows. Chapter 5: Ice Ki Condensation Pill A/N: Here is the first chapter of the promised two chapters for Christmas. I woke up late and had some issues with pring. The second chapter is already complete and just need to be pred so it will come out within the hour. This chapter and the next one should help clear up some stuff and show how the story will progress for a while. Hope you all enjoy the chapter! ***** ¡°Haa¡­.haaa¡­ we finally caught up to you, you damn bitch¡­ I was planning on letting you go peacefully after you gave us the manual, but I¡¯ve changed my mind after now. I¡¯m going to cut you up real good.¡± The shadows that Shin Yong had seen earlier were now in a stand still on an open plain. Due to the bright full moon in the sky, if anyone was there to look they would see ten males that wore black clothes along with a mask that covered the lower half of their face, making it impossible to identify them. Even though their facial expressions couldn¡¯t be seen, their eyes expressed their fury plenty enough for anyone to see. Ten feet in front of them, was a girl that had flowing black hair that reached her lower back and beautiful pure blue eyes that reminded others of the sky. Her face was small and her skin like porcelain. Due to the tight fitting clothes she wore, people could see that she had the curves in all the right places which would cause men to go crazy. The girl was exactly the same person who had rushed into Shin Yong¡¯s room at a hotel previously. After the group had gotten their breath back, they slowly fanned out and surrounded the girl. Seeing them slowly approach, despair appeared within her eyes. For the past several days, she had been fleeing from them, to no avail. Whenever she thought she finally got rid of them, a new group would appear and chase after her. It seemed as though there were numerous groups in various locations that would begin chasing after her after she finally lost one group. After running almost non-stop for that long, she really had spent up all her ki and energy. The ten males were not lenient with her. Even though she was world shaking beauty, they relentlessly beated her. Thankfully though, they didn¡¯t use weapons and cut her like one of the men stated earlier. They knew that even though they could get away with hurting her and running away, if they actually killed her, they really wouldn¡¯t be able to handle the fury of those who was behind her and they would be chased to the end of the world. Hiding in the shadows of a tree nearby, Shin Yong watched the scene play out with cold eyes. There was no movement to actually go out and help as he patiently waited. Only as the girl began to lose her consciousness and the shadows grew tired did he finally take action. While the ten males were panting and catching their breath with looks of satisfaction on their face, in between them appeared a lone figure that exuded a vicious aura. Not even bothering to wait for their shock, he immediately threw out four daggers from each of his hand, hitting eight of them in the throat or chest. Without even verifying whether the victims died, he rushed forward and slashed through the throat of the last two survivors before he finally came to a stand still. Right as he stopped and stood tall, the ten bodies all collapsed as if the strings that were holding them up had been cut through. Taking a few moment to retrieve the throwing daggers, he wiped the blood off of them and put them back within his shirt. Afterwards, he walked toward the beautiful woman. On the way there, just as if he was speaking to himself, he spoke out loud. ¡°Moon Geun, get rid of the corpses.¡± Without even verifying whether he had heard the command, Shin Yong continued to walk forward. Between the dead corpses a figure hazily appeared. Taking a bottle out of his shirt, he began to drop a couple drops of acid onto the bodies which quickly began to disintegrate, leaving no signs that they were there previously. As Shin Yong got near the lady, he couldn¡¯t help but click his head in disgust. Those guys really hadn¡¯t gone easy on her and had left several bruises all over her body. Actually, the reason he had not intervened in the beginning was because he did not want the girl to see his face. That¡¯s why he waited until the moment she had lost consciousness and then taken action. If she had seen his face, he would have had to silence her for forever so that information of him wouldn¡¯t leak out. This was also one of the reason that even though a year had passed since he took over the Gray Shadow Sect that no outsiders knew of his actual strength and skill. Shin Yong began to lower his body. Placing his arms behind her back and knees, he was slowly raising her when a small wooden box fell out from her shirt. Placing her gently back on the ground, he looked at the thing that had fallen. It was some kind of jewelry box with a figurine inside of it. Unlike the regulars ones that showed people dancing, the figure was actually of a sturdy man who was going through some unarmed martial techniques. As he picked the box up with curiosity, he noticed that there were tiny red lines all over the figurine and that a blue light was moving along the red lines. When he saw all of this, he couldn¡¯t help but be surprised. That little figurine was actually showing a martial technique! Not only was it actually demonstrating the movements, but it also showed how the ki should be moving within his body with each movement. Even though he had experienced and saw numerous things throughout his travel and time during the war, Shin Yong never saw something so fascinating. Not only was it a lot more effective than reading an actual manual, it actually was just as effective as if a master was there to teach you. After he intensely focused on the figurine and watched it go through each movement twice, he finally memorized all of the movements and the movement of the ki. A genuine smile appeared on his face. This expenditure had given him quite the profit. The martial technique that the figurine displayed was a barehanded one. Since he used a dagger technique, the two were very complimentary of each other. There were always time when he would not have any weapons on him as he threw his daggers, after all. Even though he already knew a barehanded technique, it didn¡¯t even compare to the one he just learned so he already decided to change them out. Just as he was about to close the lid, a click sound rang out and a hidden compartment beneath the figurine opened up. Inside the small space, was a pill that was pure white. Extending his hand out to pick the pill up, he felt an intense chill as his finger tips approached the pill. Bringing his arm back, he looked in shock at the pill. The pill in front of him was even rarer than top level martial techniques. It was an Ice Ki Condensation pill. For those who did not have Ice ki, it would condense Ice ki within the person while for those who already had Ice ki, it would improve their ice ki quality by several levels. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. The majority of people had ki, but no attribute. It was said that there might be just one person out of every ten thousand that would be born with ki that had an attribute. For the very select few, they would have one of the following attribute of ki: Fire, Wind, Earth, Ice. Fire ki gave the owner more explosive short burst power. Wind ki helped increase the speed of the owner. Earth ki hardened the muscles and bones of their owners, making the body itself a weapon and armor. Ice ki nulled the reaction speed of all those in the immediate area, causing them to react more slowly. This was not the end of the classification of ki, however. The quality of ki were divided into ten levels. The levels went from the tenth level all the way to the first level. As your ki level went lower, it indicated that their ki was purer and stronger. For example, a martial artist at the fourth level would be able to bring about much more explosive power than a martial artist at the eight level with Fire Ki. Shin Yong himself was a fourth level Fire ki martial artist. This was the reason why once Ryu Won and him started using ki he was able to cut through Ryu Won¡¯s muscles easily. Even though his ki level was considered pretty high, there were still various experts and geniuses who had a higher talent for ki. Still, just because one had a higher level in ki didn¡¯t mean that the outcome was set in stone. A slash through the throat or a stab to the heart would still kill them, after all. Throughout the war, he had killed a countless number of martial artists who were more talented than him and some who were considered as geniuses. Before taking the pill, Shin Yong hesitated for a moment. Since he didn¡¯t have Ice ki, it was somewhat dangerous for him to take the pill. If the Ice Ki level was too high and he couldn¡¯t handle it, the ki would spread throughout his body and freeze him from the inside. Still, the hesitation didn¡¯t last long before he reached out and swallowed the pill. Even though he couldn¡¯t be considered a genius with the talents of his fire attribute ki levels, he was still someone who had reached one of the highest levels in ki cultivation throughout the continent. You could literally count on one hand those who had reached higher level than him in ki cultivation on the continent, which was a completely different field than Ki level and attribute. After sitting down and getting into his cultivation pose, he swiftly swallowed the pill. Once the pill entered his body, the Ice ki within the pill immediately bursted forth. As the ki spread throughout his body, he felt as though his muscles and bones were being frozen. Even though it was mind numbingly painful, Shin Yong didn¡¯t yell out loud and just gritted his teeth while he forced his Fire ki to start surrounding the Ice ki and bringing them toward his dantian. After thirty minutes, he painstakingly gathered all the Ice ki toward his dantian. He secretly rejoiced at having Fire ki as it helped cancel out some of the coldness from the Ice ki. Still, even though it was all in one place now, it now felt as though his dantian was going to freeze over. Now that he got to this point, he knew that he had to let the Ice ki to flow through his ki veins so that he could refine them and finally assimilate with it. As he forced the Ice ki along his veins though, not only did he find that he wasn¡¯t able to bring the ki under his influence at all, he even felt his ki veins being slowly frozen over. Panicked, he tried to think of what he should. If he continued to let the Ice ki flow through his ki veins like this, the veins would eventually freeze and break apart, spelling his own demise. As he frantically thought over what to do, a sudden thought came to him. ¡¯Eh, could it be that I have to move the Ice ki along the path that the figurine showed me?¡¯ Thinking up to this point, Shin Yong immediately began to force the Ice ki along the path that he saw on the figurine. After noticing that it become a little tamed after going through a full circulation, he became excited. Urging the ki forward even more quickly, he put all his effort into refining it. After the Ice ki had circulated through his ki veins hundreds of times, it was finally refined and under his control. To his surprise, he found that the ki was at the fifth level. Noticing that, he cursed at whoever put the pill inside the box. ¡¯Crazy bastard, condensing Ice ki of the fifth level into the pill. If someone below my ki cultivation level without Ice Ki, or someone who¡¯s Ice ki was below the fifth level to begin with, had taken the pill, they would have surely died a pitiful death.¡¯ Even though those thoughts arouse, he really wasn¡¯t that mad. He had, after all, attained Ice ki now. Even though it was at a lower level than his Fire Ki, it wasn¡¯t by much and it would be very beneficial to him in a battle since depending on the situation he could switch between the two now. Satisfied, he finally opened his eyes and stood back up. When he saw Shin Yong stand up, Moon Geun let a large sigh out. After taking care of the corpses and erasing all the signs of battle, he had seen Shin Yong sit down and swallow the pill. Even though he didn¡¯t know what kind of pill it was, he immediately saw the painful expression on his face and him gritting his teeth. Knowing how high Shin Yong¡¯s pain tolerance was, he was immediately startled. Also, he was able to sense the strong force of Ice ki surrounding him now and figured out that what Shin Yong swallowed was a Ice Ki Condensation pill. After knowing that, he didn¡¯t dare to try to help him. He knew that if he tried to force his own ki into Shin Yong¡¯s body to assist him, it would cause the direct opposite effect and make it worse. All he could do was stay to the side and pray that his lord would be able to assimilate the Ice ki. When Shin Yong opened his and stood up, he finally saw that Moon Geun was standing to the side and had an expression of relief on his face. After seeing that face, Shin Yong could guess how worried he had been for that sort of expression to show up on his face. While inwardly being grateful to have such an aide under him who cared for him so much while also feeling embarrassed, he turned around and started walking back toward the town that they were staying in. ¡°Moon Geun, bring the girl back with us. Have our doctors come and treat her.¡± ¡°Yes, my lord.¡± Chapter 6: The Divine Sword Sect Leader A/N: Annnnnnddd here is the second chapter I promised for Christmas! Even though it''s a little after Christmas now, please excuse me >.>.... Well to all my readers, once again I hope you all had a great Christmas and enjoyed yourselves. Once again, I ask you to leave some comments and reviews on your opinions of the story. Not only do they help me make a better quality story, even though I hate to admit it as a more "veteran" (SLIGHT exaggeration, maybe) on this site, they do indeed give the author more motivation to write. Once again thanks in advance everyone! Now, enjoy the new chp! ****** In a large room full of extravagant furniture, a girl with the beauty to cause men to bitterly fight to death over was sitting at a table in front of a window while lifelessly staring at a figurine that was inside a box. The figurine was unique as it was of a man who was going through the motions of a martial technique. If Shing Yong was there, he would immediately recognize her as the girl he saved in the plains. When the girl woke up, she had found, to her surprise, that she was on a comfortable bed in a empty room. Startled, she immediately grew vigilant and tried to sense any traces of human life in the vicinity After finding none, she soon loosened up and began to examine herself. She unexpectedly found that her body was perfectly fine, with the signs of the bruises she received from her pursuers all gone. The whole situation felt so weird that at first she contemplated whether the events that occurred the previous night was just a figment of her imagination. After thinking it over though, she realized that all her previous memories supported the idea that events that happened last night indeed occurred. Once she got that far, another question popped into her mind. ¡¯How did I get here then?¡¯ While she wondered over that, she suddenly recalled that just as she was losing her consciousness, a man had suddenly appeared in the middle of the pursuers right beside her. Unfortunately though, she wasn¡¯t able to recall how he looked as her vision had already become blurry back then. ¡¯Ah, he must¡¯ve saved me and brought me back here to get healed then¡­ Ah! The martial technique!¡¯ At the sudden thought of the martial technique, she immediately checked within her clothes to see whether it was still there. Finding it and taking it out, she let out a sigh of relief and opened it. When she opened it, she noticed it was indeed the same martial technique manual. There was, however, a change in the figurine as the red lines and the blue light that used to flow along the lines disappeared. When she noticed it was gone, she became depressed. Even though she could follow the movements of the martial technique, she no longer had a way to figure how she should let her ki flow while using the movements. The technique basically became useless now. Helplessly, she could only consider this trip to retrieve it a failure. After trying with no avail to find out where the person who brought her back was from the inn owner, she dejectedly left the inn and finally returned home last night. Ever since she had woken up that morning, she had been staring at the figurine with lifeless eyes. Not long after she woke up though, a man bursted in through the doors. Startled, the girl looked up to see a muscular man who had shaved black hair look at her with mix of reliefs, worry, anger, and shock. ¡°Lady Ha Neul! Please promise me you¡¯ll never leave so suddenly by yourself!¡± Seeing the man¡¯s expression and hearing his words, Ha Neul let a rare small smile appear on her face. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry that I left without telling you, Jong Gook, but this time I really needed to go out without anyone knowing about it so I had no choice.¡± Jong Gook was her personal bodyguard. He was renown as one of the top martial artists within the sect and from a young age had been given the job of protecting the daughter of the sect leader. Ever since, the two were always together. Jong Gook was two years older than her and their relationship seemed closer to one as siblings than a retainer and their bodyguard. Seeing his lady¡¯s sweet smile and hearing her voice which was most pleasing to the ears, his face finally showed relief and he let a sigh out. Ever since the lady had disappeared a couple of weeks ago, he had been worried sick and was scared she might have gotten seriously injured. Those worries slowly built up and became large stress factors that made it so he couldn¡¯t relax at all during the period she went missing. Still, seeing his lady like this, everything finally went back to how they were, so he was very glad. After taking a moment to get his emotions under control, he once again spoke. ¡°Since you came back, it is all fine now, my lady. If you hadn¡¯t come back, I don¡¯t know how I would have been able to face the previous sect leader in the afterlife. My lady, you are now the clan leader of the Divine Sword Sect, the pillar of our sect. You must, at all cost, keep yourself healthy. Anyways, were you able to complete your mission?¡± ¡°Haa¡­ unfortunately I wasn¡¯t.¡± When Jong Gook saw Ha Neul¡¯s depressed expression, he didn¡¯t ask about the circumstance anymore. Instead, he decided to change the topic. ¡°My lady, sub sect leader Huh Gak seems to be trying to gather more of the elders over to his side. We need to take action and immediately get rid of that greedy bastard!¡± ¡°Haa¡­.. Huh Gak, huh?¡± Huh Gak was her father¡¯s, the previous sect leader¡¯s, brother. While her father was still alive, he put all his effort into helping make the sect stronger and gave his allegiance to him. Still, as soon as her father fell sick and died so suddenly, he had begun to slowly show his greed for the spot of sect leader and started to rope in numerous elders to his side. The sub sect leader and elders, who were so loyal to her father, started to show her their back. It¡¯s not like she couldn¡¯t understand why, though. Even though she could be considered talented as a martial artists, she wasn¡¯t a rare talent and she just turned twenty one a couple months ago. It was natural for the elders to wonder whether she had the capability of leading their sect. Still, she had been trying her very best to adequately lead the sect. She spent numerous sleepless nights going through all the administrative paperwork and dealing with any issues that arose to show that she was indeed a capable leader. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The reason she had gone out in secret this time was also so she could become stronger. One of her father¡¯s closest friends sent her a letter saying that her father had left him a martial technique to pass onto her. Unfortunately, however, this word got leaked out and she was chased after the whole time after she received it and eventually wasn¡¯t able to obtain it in the end. ¡°We don¡¯t have the strength to challenge Huh Gak yet, Jong Gook. If we were to go head on with him right now it would only lead to our demise. Oh yeah, were you able to locate the Close Quarter King?¡± Before she left to retrieve the martial technique, Ha Neul gave Jong Gook the task of trying to locate where Ryu Won was and try to rope him into helping them. Ryu Won was well known for not being affiliated with any of the three great alliances and for being an expert. If they were able to convince him to help them, their side would gain a huge strength that would help them go against Huh Gak. ¡°We did find out about his whereabouts, but unfortunately wasn¡¯t able to make it in time. By the time we arrived where he was, the Close Quarter King looked as though he fought against the Devil Twins and perished along with the both of them. I¡¯m sorry, my lady.¡± When Ha Neul heard of the passing of Ryu Won, she let loose a long depressed sigh. It really felt like nothing was going her way as if the heavens didn¡¯t wish for her to succeed. Still, she remained determined to succeed and protect the position that her father gave to her. She once again started to frantically think of ways to increase her strength significantly in the shortest amount of time. As she went over numerous ideas, she finally came to a conclusion. Truthfully, she had thought of the idea a while ago, but she was reluctant to use it. Still, the situation deteriorated a lot and she didn¡¯t have many options remaining. After steeling herself, she gave Jong Gook a command. ¡°Jong Gook, release a statement for me. Announce that a month from now we will be holding a martial arts tournament. Also notify everyone that the reward for winning the tournament¡­.. will be a bethroment with me.¡± ¡°NO, MY LADY! THERE¡¯S ABSOLUTELY NO WAY YOU CAN DO THIS!¡± As soon as Jong Gook heard what Ha Neul wanted to announce, he angrily refuted it. ¡°My lady, I understand you are desperate to gain a strong martial artists as your ally and become stronger, but I really don¡¯t think this is the right way. You really can¡¯t tell who will become your husband. If the person who wins the competition is old and/or has evil intentions¡­¡± ¡°Haha Jong Gook, of course I have thought about those kind of situations. It¡¯s just that I have enough confidence to be able to control whoever wins to do what I want. Even though this is one of the final desperate plans, I have confidence in making it work. Also, we don¡¯t have much more time, Huh Gak will most likely act within the year. We need to consolidate our strength as much as possible within that time span. It doesn¡¯t matter whether my future is young or old, as long as they are strong and we are able to use that strength.¡± With every word from Ha Neul, Jong Gook¡¯s expression became more depressed. He knew that her words were correct. Still, he really couldn¡¯t bring himself to agree. Like he said earlier, there was no way to know who or what kind of person would win. Actually, it was highly likely an older person would win as they had a longer time to train and become strong. It was too much of a shame to marry such a beautiful girl to an old man, after all. Still, he didn¡¯t say any of his thoughts and only lightly nodded his head before slowly leaving the room and beginning to spread the word. ***** ¡°My lord, between the the Martial Alliance and the Asura School, which do you think would be the best choice to attack first?¡± It had been a week since Shin Yong and his entourage returned to the Gray Shadow Sect. At that moment, inside the main chamber, Shin Yong was having a meeting with his closest aides. In front of him stood Jong Shin, Tae Yang, and Sung Woo. The four of them were finally discussing the first phase of the plan to unite all three alliances. ¡°Hm¡­ it should be the Asura School, right? The sects always have internal rifts over who will become the alliance head so it should be the easiest to infiltrate them.¡± When Jong Shin heard what Shin Yong said, he nodded his head. If it really was like, it would indeed be the best choice to try to take over the Asura School first. ¡°Your thinking isn¡¯t wrong, my lord. The Asura School is indeed in a mess because of the internal conflicts, which make them easier to infiltrate. It is, however, easier to infiltrate the Martial Alliance. Even though the Asura School¡¯s sects are always in a power struggle, they will unite as one whenever the occasion for them to arises. Also, since they use Demon ki, it will be difficult to imitate it for a large amount of people to infiltrate them. The Asura School does have the strongest average power among the three sects as Demon ki is indeed stronger than regular ki. If it wasn¡¯t for the down side where it makes the user battle crazy, everyone would cultivate it.¡± When Shin Yong heard Jong Shin¡¯s reason, he nodded his head in agreement. What he said was correct. ¡°The Martial Alliance, however, is a different story. Even though they paraded around the banners of honor and justice, the leaders of the current Martial Alliance are quite corrupted and not as unified as it¡¯s thought to be. The problem is how we initially infiltrate them, though¡­.¡± As Jong Shin was speaking, a loud knock sounded from the door. When Shin Yong gave them permission to come in, a soldier entered. After he bowed to Shin Yong, he rushed to Jong Shin and whispered a few words in his ears. When Jong Shin what the soldier had to say, a smile appeared on his face before he dismissed him. After the soldier left, Jong Shin looked toward Shin Yong with a large smile on his face and a sly glint in his eyes. ¡°My lord, I believe we have just found our way to infiltrate the Martial Alliance.¡±