Chapter 319 The Great Battle of Hyeongsan – Part 1

Chapter 319: The Great Battle of Hyeongsan – Part 1

Wei Zhengguo, the Supreme Sword of Honam and leader of the Hyeongsan Sect, gathered all the martial artists of the sect on the vast plain located directly below Hyeongsan.

This was precisely the location he had envisioned for the decisive battle.

He planned to set up camp here and wait for that bastard, Seolpung.

Standing atop a low embankment, Wei Zhengguo surveyed the martial artists he had brought from the main headquarters of the Hyeongsan Sect.

Nearly a thousand men, he estimated, stood in orderly ranks across the plain.

Seeing them, Wei Zhengguo smiled with satisfaction.

It was because the Xingshan Sect before he became its leader possessed a level of strength he could never have imagined.

All of this was a force he himself, the greatest leader in the history of the Hyeongsan Sect, had cultivated.

He smiled contentedly and asked the head of the outer sect, Jia Guangjinren.

“What exactly is the current state of our forces?”

Zagwang Jinren bowed his head and replied.

“Excluding the Grandmaster, we have nine supreme masters, one hundred and forty-three masters, and roughly eight hundred first-rate martial artists.”

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhengguo smiled contentedly once more.

Although many supreme masters had fallen, even with their current strength alone, the Amipa—which held the lowest rank among the Nine Great Sects—could easily overwhelm not only the Qingcheng Sect and Gongtong Sect, but also the lower-tier sects.

Wei Zhengguo commanded the Xingshan Sect warriors in a booming voice, his words resonating with inner strength.

– Draw your swords!

The warriors responded in unison and drew their swords.

“Yes! Sect Leader!”

Clang!

The sight was truly spectacular.

A swift, coordinated movement, as if one man had drawn his sword.

The fact that they could perform such movements despite never having honed their skills meant they were all practitioners of a certain caliber.

Wei Zhengguo shouted again.

– Martial artists above the Peak Realm, unleash your sword energy!

Then, over a hundred martial artists answered in unison once more, unleashing their sword energy.

“Yes! Sect Leader!”

Whoosh!

At that moment, Wei Zhengguo’s smile deepened further, and the elite martial artists watching, including the Immortal of Bright Light, let out gasps of admiration.

“Ooh!”

“How magnificent!”

The scene was truly magnificent.

A dazzling sky-blue blade aura blazed forth from the swords of nearly one hundred and fifty warriors.

It was an overwhelming sight that seemed absolutely impossible unless one belonged to one of the Three Great Powers of the world.

But Wei Jung-guk was not satisfied with that.

– All remaining warriors, unleash your sword energy!

Upon his command, over eight hundred elite warriors responded in unison, unleashing their sword energies.

“Yes! Grandmaster!”

Whoosh!

The next moment, the senior martial artists of the Xingshan Sect standing beside Wei Zhengguo were left speechless. With expressions of profound awe, they gazed in silence at the martial artists unleashing their sword energy and sword qi.

Amidst the eight hundred warriors spewing mist-like black energy, a hundred and forty warriors gathered, radiating brilliant sky-blue energy.

The sight was mesmerizing, as if witnessing a scene from legend.

It was a sight that could not help but make one’s heart grow warm.

Then, Wei Zhengguo, who had been watching them with a satisfied smile, suddenly wiped the smile from his face and spoke.

– Do you all see?! You are precisely! No, we are precisely the strongest force in the history of the Hyeongsan Sect!

The strongest force in the history of the Hyeongsan Sect.

At those words, the eyes of the Hyeongsan Sect warriors burned with intensity.

Weizhengguo’s words continued.

– Has the Hyeongsan Sect ever once been among the Nine Great Sects? Has it ever once been the master of Hunan Province?

His words were undeniably true.

The Hyeongsan Sect boasted a long history as a prestigious school, yet throughout that entire history, it had never once stood tall as a leading force in Hunan Province, let alone the entire realm.

It had always been merely one of the respectable orthodox schools.

But not anymore.

After the current sect leader, Wei Zhengguo, recovered the lost manuals and actively disseminated them, the Xingshan Sect rose to become one of the most powerful sects in the world, ranking among the top of the Nine Great Sects.

As Wei Zhengguo recalled this fact, a fiery pride began to well up in the eyes of each and every martial artist of the Xingshan Sect.

Their hearts swelled with emotion.

Then, Wei Zhengguo shouted again.

– Only us! The Nine Great Sects! The masters of Honam Province! In our sect’s long history, only we could have achieved this! Therefore, we can now proudly declare: We are the history and legend of the Hyeongsan Sect! Sons of Hyeongsan! Is that not so?!

At those words, all the martial artists of Hyeongsan roared with fervor.

“Yes, Grandmaster!”

Weizhengguo shouted passionately toward them once more.

– Shout it together! We are the legend of the Hyeongsan Sect!

Then, drawing his sword and raising it high toward the heavens, he led the chant.

Chak!

– We are the very!

Then all the disciples shouted as if Mount Hyeongsan itself would shake loose.

“The legend of Hyeongsan! Woo-haaaaaah!”

With this brief speech, Wei Zhengguo had completely fired up the martial artists of the Hyeongsan faction.

Their spirits, which had been dampened by various unfortunate incidents, seemed to vanish completely in an instant.

The elders of the leadership watching this scene could not help but be impressed.

Indeed, it was the powerful leadership befitting Hyo-ung, who had been hailed as the strongest leader in Hyeongsan Sect’s history over the past decade and had elevated the sect to the ranks of the Eight Great Sects.

Meanwhile, Wei Zhengguo also wore a satisfied smile at the martial artists’ reaction.

Everything now seemed perfectly in place.

The ruling faction believed coldly that they could never possibly lose.

‘So Seolpung, the heir to the Four Kings, has two Thirty-Six Star-Ranked masters with him? So what?’

At most, it was just those few.

No matter how powerful they were, the strength of the remaining warriors, excluding them, was undoubtedly not threatening at all.

His reasoning was clear.

Most of them were likely martial artists from Hunan Province. Even if they searched the entire province, the number of peak masters not affiliated with the Xingshan Sect would barely reach a hundred.

What about a supreme master?

Wei Zhengguo snorted derisively.

‘Hmph! If they were original subordinates, maybe. But among those newly recruited from Hunan Province, there’s no way such individuals exist!’

Someone like the peerless Chohagon was an extremely rare exception.

Most supreme masters built massive protective barriers to establish their own domains.

And that was perfectly natural.

Who in their right mind would want to be under someone else when they’re a peerless master?

That’s why even the original supreme masters within Hunan Province, the domain of the Xingshan Sect, had all departed long ago.

There was neither the strength nor the reason to hold out in this place, where every corner belonged to the Hyeongsan Sect.

Therefore, whether Seolpung brought a thousand or two thousand men, the peak practitioners among them would be no more than a hundred or two hundred at best, and the absolute masters would undoubtedly number less than ten.

And with such forces, no matter how skilled Seolpung was, there was no way he could defeat them.

‘If he truly wanted to defeat us, it should have been the Four Kings themselves, not that bastard, leading the warriors of the Four Kings Alliance.’

With that thought, Wi Jeong-guk gave a faint, bitter smile and looked around at the senior leaders gathered around him.

Then he called them over.

“Gather here for a moment.”

The elders, who had been smiling contentedly while watching their enthusiastic disciples, approached Wi Jeong-guk with puzzled expressions.

“What is it, Grandmaster?”

Wei Jung-guk swept his sharp gaze over them.

All nine were supreme masters.

They were the very core of the Xingshan Sect’s strength gathered here.

Wei Zhengguo pulled a pouch from his robe and addressed them.

“Take one of these each.”

At first, they stared at the pouch with puzzled expressions, but when a black pill emerged from within, they all looked utterly horrified.

“Hey, Sect Leader! Th-that’s…”

“C-could it be… the Blood-Boosting Pill?!”

The pill Wei Zhengguo was about to distribute to these supreme masters was precisely the Blood-Boosting Pill—a potent elixir that instantly tapped into latent potential, temporarily elevating one’s martial prowess for a brief moment.

It was also a dangerous pill, carrying the risk of turning one into a cripple after a single moment, or even death in severe cases.

Wei Zhengguo was now holding such a pill in his palm, offering it to them.

“Here, take one each.”

Then none of the elders readily reached out their hands.

They all looked at each other with reluctant expressions, merely watching each other’s reactions.

None of them wanted to take the Blood-Boiling Pill.

Those martial artists from the southern Guangdong Jin family might take it themselves and fight for their clan’s honor, but weren’t the people here far more concerned with their own longevity and advancement than the honor of the Xingshan Sect?

There was no way such men would want to take the Blood-Boiling Pill, knowing they might become invalids or die after taking it.

Then, the eyes of the man watching them began to glint with malice.

He growled low.

“Can’t you take it right now?”

It was then.

The elders, all supreme masters, simultaneously let out groans and began clutching their stomachs.

“Ugh!”

“Ugh! Come now, Sect Leader…”

Wei Zhengguo was a man who trusted absolutely no one but himself.

Therefore, he had imposed a strict prohibition on everyone close to him, forcing them to obey his commands.

He did this by feeding them the ‘Go’.

Wei Zhengguo looked at them with cold eyes and said.

“I didn’t make it deadly enough. Don’t exaggerate your injuries and dampen the morale of your disciples; keep your composure.”

At those words, the leaders had to endure their pain and hurriedly take one blood-red pill each.

They knew all too well what would happen if they didn’t.

Then, the agony that felt like their intestines were being torn apart soon subsided.

Wei Zhengguo addressed them.

“I have no intention of keeping dogs who disobey my orders. Remember this is your final chance.”

At his words, the supreme masters of the leadership bowed their heads, their faces drained of color.

That threat was undoubtedly a warning that if he hesitated even when ordered to eat the blood-boiling pill, he would be killed immediately.

So they had no choice.

Taking the Blood-Boiling Pill meant a high probability of dying or becoming crippled afterward, but refusing it meant certain death.

All they could do was pray that such a situation never came to pass.

They took the Blood-Boiling Pills one by one, regretting the past.

‘We shouldn’t have eaten the ‘Go’ back then…’

They had first taken the ‘Go’ when they were first incorporated into the leadership.

At that time, they had to eat the ‘go’ themselves while swearing allegiance before the eyes of the ruling faction.

Of course, such an act was utterly intolerable for the warriors of the Hyeongsan faction,

Yet, at that moment, not a single one of them hesitated to swallow it.

They believed that much was a price worth paying for personal advancement.

Moreover, they believed that as long as they catered to Wei Zhengguo’s whims, they would never face any threats.

Back then, no one could have imagined this situation would ever come to pass.

But it was useless to regret it now.

It was then.

Woo Jeong-guk stared intently toward the distant horizon and said.

“The stragglers have arrived.”

At his words, the elders of the leadership all turned their heads to follow his gaze.

Then, from the forest bordering the plain, people began to emerge.

A young man in red military attire stood at the forefront, leading the group.

Wei Zhenggu muttered.

“That bastard is Seolpung.”

Emerging from the forest, Seolpung walked slowly but unhesitatingly toward the plain where the Hyeongsanpa warriors had set up camp.

Then, warriors continued to emerge from the forest behind him.

Though their numbers appeared to far exceed a thousand at a glance, the procession of warriors showed no sign of ending.

Seeing this, the Outer Sect Master, Master Jaguang, spoke in a solemn voice.

“There are indeed many.”

It meant all those people were martial artists who had gathered voluntarily, harboring grudges against the Hyeongsan Sect.

It was both threatening and unsettling.

Then, Wei Zhengguo scoffed and retorted.

“What does it matter how many ants swarm? Just crush them underfoot.”

At those words, the commanders fell silent, their faces twisted in discomfort.

They believed it was still impossible to know whether those men were truly a swarm of ants.

They were filled with nothing but anxiety, fearing they might be forced to take the Bloodlust Potion themselves.

A short while later, when the number of warriors emerging from the forest reached about three thousand, the procession finally came to an end.

They followed Seolpung until they were about fifty paces behind the Hyeongsanpa warriors, then halted their steps.

***

Seolpung looked at the Xingshan Sect warriors lined up on the plain and spoke.

“It seems everyone here is at least a top-tier intermediate-level martial artist. Indeed, it’s a formidable force to confront head-on.”

Then, standing beside him, Zheng Xiaoshang, the deputy leader of the Half-Brotherhood, retorted with a blazing gaze.

“Not so, Master. Our spirit is higher, our numbers greater—what is there to fear? We even have masters like you, the Three-Pronged Spear Master Gam, and the Ghostly White Elder on our side! Please give the order to attack. Today, we shall wipe out the Xingshan Sect to the last man!”

Seolpung gazed into his eyes, burning with hatred.

Even he, who wasn’t usually so hot-headed, seemed unable to maintain his composure when he saw the enemy Hyeongsan faction right before his eyes.

Needless to say, the eyes of the Banxing members standing behind him were even more intense.

They all seemed ready to charge at the enemy at any moment, their eyes blazing with fury.

But he couldn’t let them have their way.

Seolpung knew he had to restrain them.

A head-on collision resulting in countless casualties was neither what he desired nor what Sunwoo Jin had planned.

Seolpung swept his gaze over the Banhyung members and spoke soothingly.

“Master Jeong, and all members of the Banhyung Society, I understand your deep resentment. But the ones you should seek vengeance against are not the disciples of the Hyeongsan Sect, but rather Wei Jung-guk and his inner circle, are they not? Those disciples are merely tools exploited by Wei Jung-guk. If a robber stabs one’s parents with a knife, can one seek vengeance on the knife itself?”

Then, one impatient member of the Ban Hyeong-hoe shouted.

“That’s not true! How can they be mere tools when they followed Wei Zhengguo with their own thoughts and actions?! They all must pay the price for their crimes!”

Other members of the Brotherhood shouted in agreement.

“That’s right! No one who has enemies within the Hyeongsanpa can be free from their sins!”

Seolpung felt awkward at the voices of the half-brothers burning with resentment.

Of course, their words held considerable merit.

Although Wei Zhengguo had orchestrated everything, those who followed his orders could also be considered accomplices.

But even so, he couldn’t simply collide head-on as they desired.

It differed from the original plan, and though their numbers were greater overall, Seolpung keenly sensed that their level was significantly inferior to that of the Hyeongsan faction.

It was exactly as Seon Woo-jin had anticipated before leaving for Hyeongsan.

Seolpung sighed and spoke with a somewhat stiff expression.

“If we engage them head-on, everyone here might die. Our numbers are greater, but their average combat prowess is far superior. Are you still insisting on a direct confrontation?”

At his question, the Banhyung members shouted heatedly.

“Of course! We fear death not at all! If we can die alongside them, we shall have no regrets whatsoever!”

“Give the order to attack, Lord! We will die here!”

Their fervor was hot enough to explode.

But unlike his fervor, Seolpung’s expression grew increasingly cold.