Chapter 472

혈교’s bloodthirsty leader, Am Ha-ryong, stood at the crossroads of a monumental decision.

Originally, the aim of the Blood Clan’s fishy plot was to stir up a kerfuffle between the orthodox and heterodox sects, fanning the flames until it escalated to a full-blown war.

But that was just the thing: the Zhengpai guys were barely catching wind of it.

Like every joint effort, the decision-making process took its sweet time.

But how long exactly do you have to wait?

Meanwhile, the Sapa folks were going at each other’s throats.

At this rate, it wasn’t going to be a grand war between the orthodox and heterodox, but a civil war within the Sapa!

Of course, there’s no need for the orthodox side when it comes to hunting down the Blood Clan.

Either way, if the warriors dwindle down, it’s a win for the Blood Clan, no questions asked.

But what if a big gain turns into a tiny win due to someone meddling?

It’s not that easy to just brush off a loss, no matter how small it is.

In Qing’s hometown, there’s a saying about the divide between those who succeed and those who fail.

If you bought something for one liang and sold it for ten, you’d pocket a neat profit of nine liang.

But what if you sold it for nine liang instead? How much did you gain then?

The failures would claim an eight liang gain, while the successful ones would lament a one liang loss.

It’s like saying if you sell something that could’ve gone for ten liang at just nine, isn’t it the jeweler who ends up losing?

Of course, there’s a flip side to that argument too.

Those who see one liang lost as a failure are deemed unsuccessful, while those who focus on the eight liang earned are the ones who succeed.

Why does the same story yield opposite conclusions?

Because when it comes to personal development literature, you can scribble anything and get away with it.

What matters is that the audience feels satisfied knowing they’ve read a great book and feel like they’ve become better people.

The authors just boast about their struggles and how they stand up after failures, crediting not their parents’ support but their indomitable spirits for success, making money with self-promotion along the way.

Am Ha-ryong was one to focus on the one liang loss, but he wasn’t one to let it spiral into a two- or three-liang loss either.

“Open all doors.”

“Huh? The Zhengpai folks aren’t even involved yet, and you want to do that now?”

“The Heart Consumption Technique needs to fall into the hands of the Sapa for a fight to really break out. If it ends up with the Zhengpai, it’ll just be a campfire gathering under the auspices of Gu Pailang’s Ten Great Stars.”

The Sapa guys were absolutely itching for the Heart Consumption Technique.

If they got their hands on it and trained long enough, they could be the Number One in the World and the Number One Martial Artist as well.

The Sapa lacked the refined skills worthy of being called divine.

So they were keen on grabbing anything that looked remotely useful.

But the prestigious Zhengpai had enough divine skills to go around.

With secure yet powerful skills in hand, they had no reason to lose their minds over some unpredictable side effects.

Better to burn the thing down before it creates chaos in the world.

This is what they call “kicking the ladder” back in Qing’s hometown.

The established orthodox sects didn’t need the Heart Consumption Technique, so it was wiser to wipe it off the map rather than let someone else get trained up to challenge them.

“If the Zhengpai barges in like this, the Sapa will get wiped out completely. So what can we do if it’s necessary for the Heart Consumption Technique to fall into their hands?”

The ancient Chinese saying goes: “A clever rabbit digs three holes.”

Hole one: Create a bloodbath between the Zhengpai and Sapa near No Mountain.

Hole two: But even if that fails, transfer the Heart Consumption Technique to the Sapa, triggering a massive clash amongst the Zhengpai as they scramble to respond.

What if that crashes and burns too?

Then just blame the genius strategist Unyeonjeong, who has been messing around with overly ambitious plans!

Three holes, just like that!

Cunning rabbit! Who am I talking about?

It’s me! Gui San-Man Park! Who is Gui San-Man Park?

It’s me! Am Ha-ryong!

Am Ha-ryong, pleased with his own cleverness, shrugged his shoulders.

But his underlings were used to this kind of scene, so it barely fazed them, and suddenly another question popped into his head.

“Alright, let’s open all doors.”

—-

It was a pitch-black night.

Suddenly, with a faint whizz, a flame took to the sky with its tail trailing behind.

Boom!

A dazzling firework painted the night sky.

And a moment later.

Whiz, boom!

And then again, a bit later.

Whiz, boom!

An unusual firework display erupted in the dead of night.

Startled by the loud bang, people rushed out, puzzled, only to freeze and stare up at the rising fireworks.

Fireworks are quite the rare and expensive spectacle typically reserved for the Spring Festival!

But why were they only letting off a couple of these at a time?

There should be dozens exploding simultaneously to fill the sky with sparks for a real show!

After that, the intermittent fireworks lazily continued their display.

What was it, a few shots here and there?

But the folks in the Central Plain, always eager for entertainment, craned their necks, transfixed by the dark sky.

Even the common people woke their sleeping families to come gaze at the sky.

Would the Martial World individuals just sleep through this commotion, thinking it was just some fire at a local residence?

Martial World individuals, filled with their own ambitions, came out looking for the Heart Consumption Technique, only to find themselves entranced by the beautiful display, gazing up at the sky.

Suddenly, dozens of fiery blossoms shot up together, painting the distant No Mountain’s sky in a dazzling array of colors.

“Oooh…!”

A cheer erupted among the common folks.

Of course, they wanted a proper firework show.

After being teased with one or two ‘fizzles’ earlier, the grand display finally unfolded!

The Martial World folks, however, were taken aback.

Fireworks are going off at No Mountain?

Fireworks at No Mountain?

In this scenario, a few dimwits wondered, “Why would you shoot fireworks at No Mountain? Who’s doing it?”

But most Martial World individuals had at least a shred of common sense.

There must be a major incident over at No Mountain!

And surely the Heart Consumption Technique and Divine Treasure are hidden up there.

Thus, the impatient ones sprang into action immediately.

Some wielded lanterns, torches, even candles!

How exactly do you plan to navigate through this darkness with just a candle?

It was a shining example of people who act first and think later.

They do things all haphazardly and inevitably run into problems due to their lack of preparation, causing them to take longer detours.

Still, it might be a tad premature to call those carrying candles dumb.

There were people rushing out empty-handed too.

It’s the classic trait of those who act with no thought, just charging ahead blindly.

Like Qing, for example.

“Let’s hurry up and go!”

“Woohoo, is it finally time to see the accomplishments of this Yang sword?”

And also the firstborn of the Namgung family wielding the Yang sword.

“Hey, you all! You’re going to charge out without a care in the world? It’s pitch black out here!”

Fortunately, there was a big thief amongst the group, someone with a bit of sense and education.

“Huh? Pitch black?”

But Qing felt wronged.

It’s the perfect night with a full moon!

With her superhuman eyesight, she could at least make out the outlines of things.

The trained body can substitute for thought.

Even if she had no thought, her superhuman physique could make up for it.

So while it could be said that Qing’s ability to outmatch Namgoong Shin-jae in that aspect could lead to her victory—

“Oh, are you planning to go out like that? Shouting that the Cheonhwa-geom is right here?”

“Ah.”

Well, at the end of the day, it’s all the same. Fifty steps or a hundred steps, it’s like comparing a small potato to a big one.

Qing’s skin was so top-tier that she wouldn’t allow even the tiniest pimple to afflict it.

But her companions weren’t as fortunate, and Qing didn’t want to walk around sticky with glue either, so she went bare-faced.

Thus began the disguise.

In the dead of night, they woke a servant to get some oil, ensuring they had plenty of torches and lanterns.

—-

What do the Sapa and the White-Ghost have in common?

Answer: They both feel immense pride after slaughtering the locals and occupying villages.

Sapa folks were merely a bunch who captured a measly village after a collective massacre.

Naturally, while others were downgrading back to the valleys or sheltering from the rain, they had chosen a strategically sound position for their base.

But even they got the chaotic wake-up call with fireworks in the middle of the night.

Initially, the Sapa thought it might be a signal indicating some discovery, but at the sight of continuous bursts of fireworks, their expression hardened.

“What are you doing?! Get ready to search!”

And thus, they scrambled with frantic haste, climbing up the mountain, following the sparks.

At the end, they discovered a massive stone door the likes of which they had never seen before.

“Wait, we missed this plainly visible stone door?! Who was in charge of this area’s search?”

“It wasn’t here before! I swear!”

“Then did the door just magically sprout from the ground? Get your head daubed in?”

The folks who should’ve searched this area were unjustly miffed.

How could anyone miss such a massive stone door without a scratch in their line of sight!

If anything, they were the ones astonished, having their heads literally buried in the ground!

Next to the stone door stood a small round ornament, seemingly carved from crystal.

If one could peer closely behind that ornament, they would find a mercury mirror hidden within.

With a perpendicular hole extended out from the mirror and crystals placed intermittently along the way, tracing them would lead you right to the eyeball keeping watch from outside.

A technician from the Blood Clan laughed deviously upon seeing the Sapa warriors bumping their heads on the stone door.

They had crafted this door to blend in seamlessly, so how could the Sapa nincompoops searching the vast area ever spot it?

Yet it amused him how the higher-ups fussed over whose fault it was while the Sapa, caught looking like fools, were all the more hilariously pitiful!

As if indulging in a splendid show, the Blood Clan members looked toward the outside, where two ropes were taut, leading down.

Next to them were the labels.

“Open the Path” “Destroy the Path”

The moment those strings were cut, some bizarre mechanism would either open the stone door or obliterate the passage altogether.

However, the writing outside held a different message.

“Divine Treasure, Seomun”

“Offer the heart of a warrior who has surpassed their limits into this blood pool. Then it shall be opened.”

“Attempting to force the opening of the door will cause the passage to collapse, making it impossible to enter.”

And beneath that, there was a remarkably conspicuous square hole.

It would be clear as day where the blood pool was!

In truth, it’s an oddly kind inscription.

Where is this place? The Divine Treasure.

Is this the only entrance? No Seomun in sight? If there’s only one entrance, how can it be a Seomun?

How do we open it? With the heart.

Force it? You won’t get in.

The door opens when you offer a heart—sounds impressive, huh?

In reality, it’s a pseudo-automatic mechanism that requires manipulation to work. It’s neither fully automatic nor fully manual.

You just watch through the observation window to see if the heart is being offered while manually handling the ropes whenever you want it open.

But how could outsiders possibly know that?

“If you’re a warrior who has surpassed their limits…”

From among the Sado Ten Great Stars, Jeolnak-seong’s owner, Jung Gi-chung, was moaning.

In truth, it wasn’t even a riddle.

Your own limits—perfect on your own— equate to the peak.

And if you surpass that peak, then it’s the Supreme Martial Artist.

A sheer price of offering a heart from a supreme warrior as a toll for passage—now that’s a ridiculous fee!

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