Chapter 142

Chapter 142

Baek Cheon-Sang departed for Jinhua to discuss the Three Great Clans of Fujians intention to join the Zhejiang Martial Alliance with the Patriarchs of the Ten Clans of Zhejiang. Venerable elders Qiankun Hands Seok Gang and Daybreak Swordsmaster Geom Woo-Saeng accompanied him as his escorts. Although some would think that having two venerable elders escort him was too much, they had to take such huge precautionary measures since they did not know when, where, and how the Nine Celestial Demons Sect would attack.

Meanwhile, as the Young Patriarch, Baek Mu-Gun was tasked to oversee both the important and trivial matters within the Baek Sword Sect while Cheon-Sang was away. However, that did not really change Mu-Guns daily life all that much. As usual, he spent his day practicing martial arts and examining the martial arts of his two friends and the Six White Wolves. He also frequently checked for any new information from the Heavenly Secret Hall and reacted accordingly.

The Heavenly Secret Halls information was delivered through two channels. Baek Mu-Ok relayed information related to the Baek Sword Sect, while Heavenly Secret Hall Vice-Leader Dan Seol-Young delivered any other information. Today, he received information from Seol-Young about the evil factions that were believed to be under the control of the Nine Celestial Demons Sect.

Mu-Gun had requested the Heavenly Secret Hall to thoroughly investigate four evil clansthe Heretical Emperor Hall, the Green Snake Gang, the Blood Ring Gang, and the Ma Thieves Gang. Today, the Heavenly Secret Hall finally delivered the results of that investigation.

We did not discover any evidence that connects the four evil clans to the Nine Celestial Demons Sect. Moreover, they are neither an immediate threat to the righteous factions nor attempting to expand their power, Seol-Young began. Hence, at least on the surface, its difficult to associate them with the Nine Celestial Demons Sect.

What about their combat forces? Mu-Gun asked.

All four clans currently have around seven hundred to eight hundred warriors each. We still havent discovered how many martial arts masters are within their ranks.

Their combat forces are equal in number to the Evil Blood Gangs.

To be safe, we looked into how their forces grew each year. Coincidentally, all five clans, including the Evil Blood Gang, recruited a hundred warriors three years ago, Seol-Young mentioned.

I wouldnt have batted an eye if only two or three of them did that. However, considering all five underwent similar changes in numbers, there is definitely something suspicious going on, Mu-Gun said in a doubtful tone.

We also find it suspicious that they have not been trying to expand their forces after that certain growth in numbers.

It is certainly odd that those evil clans are not trying to expand their forces at all. They would have normally been busy trying to use their expanded power by now.

Still, we cannot charge them of being related to the Nine Celestial Demons Sect just because of that. We have to find concrete pieces of evidence that would connect them to the Nine Celestial Demons Sect first.

Considering how the Nine Celestial Demons Sect has been behaving so far and how they helped the Evil Blood Gang, they likely have a figure near those four evil clans if they are connected, Mu-Gun said, bringing up the past as a reference.

Attempting to find them would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

If we cant find them, then we can just make them show themselves.

Is there any way to do that?

If the evil clans are really related to the Nine Celestial Demons Sect, then they are bound to contact them sooner or later.

Are you suggesting we threaten the leaders of the evil factions into contacting the Nine Celestial Demons Sect? Seol-Young asked in an attempt to confirm Mu-Guns intention.

Yes. If the evil factions are really connected to the Nine Celestial Demons Sect, their leaders will definitely try to contact the Nine Celestial Demons Sect for the sake of their survival.

That plan would not work if they were threatening the lives of the Nine Celestial Demons Sects demonic practitioners. However, the leaders of the evil factions were only subordinates of the Nine Celestial Demons Sect, not demonic practitioners. Evil faction members value their lives more than anything else. They would betray anyone, even the Nine Celestial Demons Sect, if it meant they would get to survive.

Even so, that alone would not be enough. If the Nine Celestial Demons Sect put their mind to it, the forces of the Ten Clans of Zhejiang would not be a problem for them at all. Provoking them any further without establishing a clear countermeasure first would be unwise, Seol-Young rebutted.

If we just stand around and watch from the sidelines just because it is dangerous, we will never be able to stop the Nine Celestial Demons Sect. We have to get rid of them immediately whenever we find their traces. Only then can we reduce the damages murim will suffer.

You cant save murim by yourself, dear. You also cannot stop them by yourself. Why are you trying to take responsibility for everything? Please trust the Nine Prominent Sects and the Seven Great Families more. Now that we have informed them of the incident with the Evil Blood Gang, they will definitely investigate the evil factions and keep close surveillance on them.

At Seol-Youngs remarks, Mu-Gun realized that he was too obsessed with the Nine Celestial Demons Sect. He did whatever it took to cut them off whenever they revealed their tails even if it meant no longer considering anything else. That would be fine if he was alone. However, Mu-Gun now had a clan and a lot of people to protect. He certainly had to get rid of the Nine Celestial Demons Sect, but he also had to protect the Baek Sword Sect and the people precious to him.

Mu-Gun decided to relax and move a little slower. As Seol-Young said, he also put a little more trust in the Nine Prominent Sects and the Seven Great Families.

You are right, my dear. I guess I was too fixated on carrying all the burdens on my own. As you said, I will try to trust the Nine Prominent Sects and the Seven Great Families on this matter.

Good thinking. We have increased our surveillance on the evil factions anyway, so even if they try to plot some sort of scheme, we will be able to detect it immediately, Seol-Young said in a delighted tone.

Thank you.

Why are you suddenly thanking me?

Its because you are always by my side giving me advice. Tying the knot with you is one of the best decisions I have made in this lifetime.

Im glad I can be of help to you, dear. I will do my best to help you more in the future.

You are already doing good enough. More importantly, even if you do not help me, your presence alone already gives me a lot of strength, so you dont have to try so hard to help. Mu-Guns affectionate words and gaze were filled with love for Seol-Young.

Seol-Young smiled softly. As a woman, there was nothing that made her happier than to be loved by him.

* * *

The Nine Prominent Sects and the Seven Great Families took the information that the Baek Sword Sect sent them into careful consideration. The Baek Sword Sect mentioned that the Evil Blood Gang was connected to the Nine Celestial Demons Sect and that it was highly likely that the other large evil factions in the Central Plains were as well.

However, the two factions tackled the matter using different methods. The Nine Prominent Sects demanded that the Four Great Evil Clans express where they stand and remained firm on their stance to keep watch until they had obtained clear proof evidencing the evil clans connection to the Nine Celestial Demons Sect. On the other hand, the Seven Great Families asserted that they should take this opportunity to get rid of the Four Great Evil Clans. Even if the latter were not connected to the Nine Celestial Demons Sect, they should still nip them in the bud anyway for as long as there was a possibility that they would be controlled by the Nine Celestial Demons Sect.

Even if the evil clans could not be manipulated, the Seven Great Families argued that punishing them would still be the right course of action due to the tyranny that the Four Great Evil Clans had committed. The Nine Prominent Sects opposed the assertion of the Seven Great Families, arguing that it would be tyranny under the guise of righteousness if the Seven Great Families attacked the Four Great Evil Clans even though nothing had been proven yet.

The Nine Prominent Sects and the Seven Great Families did not budge from their stance. Hence, in the end, the Seven Great Families gave up on persuading the Nine Prominent Sects and decided to take matters into their own hands instead. If the Seven Great Families subjugated the Four Great Evil Clans despite the Nine Prominent Sects opposition, the latter could still be blamed as well. However, the Seven Great Families did not care about that at all. To them, eliminating the Four Great Evil Clans was the best course of action they could take in the name of righteousness and the safety of murim. To accomplish that, they were willing to take any condemnation.

However, getting rid of the Four Great Evil Clans was not as simple as it sounded for the Seven Great Families. After all, each of the Four Great Evil Clans had more than seven hundred martial artists in their ranks. Even if they only had a few Upper-Peak-Realm masters or higher, the Seven Great Families would still have to mobilize more than five hundred people to attack them. Furthermore, they also had to deploy at least two or three Absolute Realm masters and additional personnel as a countermeasure against the possible intervention of the Nine Celestial Demons Sect.

Even the Seven Great Families would find it hard to mobilize that many forces. However, each of their members had at least four or five vassal families that possessed more combat forces than most small and medium-sized martial clans.

Hence, the Seven Great Families proceeded to mobilize the minimum number of forces and substituted the rest with the forces of their vassal families. The vassal families could find that unfair, but they had no choice but to follow orders since the Seven Great Families used murims righteousness as justification.

Now, all that was left was to designate targets. The Seven Great Families collectively agreed that the four great families geographically closest to the Four Great Evil Clans would be leading their attack. The Great Ximen Family would deal with the Heretical Emperor Hall in Jiangxi Province, the Guangdong Jin Family with the Green Snake Gang in Guangxi Province, the Great Huangfu Family with the Blood Ring Gang in Shanxi Province, and the Hebei Peng Family with the Ma Thieves Gang in Liaoning Province. Meanwhile, the three other families were tasked to provide those four with active support.