Clop, clop, clop.

A group of horses galloped across the plains, kicking up a cloud of sand and dust. 

Today marked seven days since the Charred Dragon Unit had left the Cult. Thanks to the constant change of horses, the time required to reach the edge of Xinjiang had been greatly reduced. 

Nevertheless, they could not move on horseback forever. 

“Whoa!”

When Woon-seong sent a signal, the following Charred Dragon Unit stopped all at once. The horses whinied. 

In front of them was a huge mountain range, extending through and outside of Xinjiang. 

The Kunlun Mountains. [1]

“From here, we’ll abandon our horses and move on foot.”

The Kunlun Mountains marked the start and end of Zhongyuan (Central Plains). Twenty people travelling on horseback would attract the attention of others no matter where they were. 

Woon-seong and his men got off their horses and tied them to some nearby trees. One of the men shot an arrow into the air. It soared vertically and exploded in the sky, releasing a burst of blue flame. After seeing this signal, people from a nearby Cult branch would come and collect the horses. 

“Continue to move.”

It was time to enter the Kunlun Mountains. 

Their target was Sichuan, which lay beyond Qinghai [2]. Thus it was important for them to lay low in the Qinghai province, which was the territory of the Kunlun Sect. 

The Kunlun Sect was one of the Ten Great Sects, but it was actually quite rare for fellow cultivators  to encounter them even if they passed the Kunlun Mountain. They were a group with an intense Taoist culture, more so than any other group. For them, it was important to build up inner strength. They felt different from the similar, yet more secular, Mount Hua and Qingcheng.

I don’t have a deep grudge against them, since they weren’t there.

Woon-seong crossed the ridge of a mountain and slowly recalled that day. The day his master died, his own death — he forgot nothing. But that day, apparently none of the Kunlun showed up. 

That’s strange.

They weren’t the only ones that didn’t show. Neither  the Shaolin, the other Ten Great Sects, nor the Five Noble Clans had been seen that day either. 

Although it ended up being a false charge, it was still the execution of a demonic being that practiced a forbidden demonic art. 

And yet the Lord of the Martial Alliance had not moved the Shaolin or the Kunlun? 

No matter how Woon-seong thought, something did not add up. It seemed like he was still missing something before he could guess the answer. 

Jwa Do-gyul, what on earth were you thinking?

Woon-seong’s eyes, slowly chewing on those memories, sank deeper and deeper. 

The Charred Dragon Unit reached the end of the Kunlun Mountain after half a month. 

“I can see the end.”

It was not too difficult to reach their destination as long as they left the Kunlun Mountains. However, they had to be careful. They could not move carelessly. Now was the time to set up their operation and judge the situation. What they needed most was information.

The youth glanced back and called someone. “Baek Woon-ji!”

In response, Baek Woon-ji ran forward. “Yes, Captain!”

Despite the uneven ground, her footsteps were light and silent — a characteristic of someone who had mastered the art of stealth.

Woon-seong nodded to himself, “How many of our members have proficiently learned the art of stealth?”

“How proficient do you mean?”

Woon-seong closed his eyes for a moment. “Enough to hide themselves in less than a foot of darkness. Enough to walk on rooftops and not make the roof tiles rattle at all.”

Baek Woon-ji thought for some time, as she was the best at stealth in the unit. Naturally, she met the mentioned conditions.  So which of the remaining members also met those conditions? Most of the unit could to some degree. However, few had reached a satisfactory level. 

“Three. If you stretch a bit more, there are five.”

Three or five. 

“We’ll go with three. I’ll group them up temporarily as Team One. You take the role of leader.”

Baek Woon-ji nodded and waited calmly, listening. 

“The moment you enter Sichuan, start gathering intel. Their numbers, shift times, size and structure of the Martial Alliance Branch and the location of the imprisoned branch leader. You need to gather as much information as possible.” 

The objective was to get a clear picture of the situation so that he would be sure of what to do.

“Yes, sir!”

As he turned away, he added one last thing, “Do not let any information slip, no matter how trivial it is!”

“I heard that the Charred Dragon Unit has headed out.”

A man in black shrugged. “The Charred Dragon Unit? They may be part of the Twelve Supporting Units, but they’re still a bunch of newbies. Is there anything to worry about?”

The other man laughed. “You underestimate the strength of our Cult. They may be new, but they are the Charred Dragon Unit.” The man corrected the words of the other, tapping the table lightly with his finger. 

Tuk—tuk—

Every time, a hole was dug into the surface of the table. It was a heavy wooden table, not tofu!

“Even though I have joined with you, underestimating the Cult will cost you greatly.”

At that point, the man in black was attentive and nodded. 

The man in front of him was the Vice Leader of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon and one of the Ten Demonic Masters. ‘Soul Splitting Flame King’, Joo Moon-baek. No matter who you were, this was not a person easily ignored. Furthermore, when the Heavenly Demon died, this man would become the new Cult Leader. There was a need for good relations in the future. 

“Pardon my manners.”

“Setting that aside, are you prepared to stop the Charred Dragon Unit? Rumor says that their captain is very capable.”

The man in black laughed. “We’ve thoroughly prepared for decades. We have also prepared some decent martial artists. The ‘Sword of Heaven’ of Qingcheng is there.”

Joo Moon-baek had obviously heard of this man. “Isn’t he still a brat?”

The Sword of Heaven was in his late thirties, making him about twice as old as those in the Charred Dragon Unit. Still, he was considerably young. Wasn’t he only the successor of the ‘Sword of Blue Clouds and Red Sunset’?

“Have you forgotten that the captain of the Charred Dragon Unit is abnormally skilled for his age?” Joo Moon-baek seemed to think it would be difficult to block the Charred Dragon Unit with just the Sword of Heaven. Unless the captain was an idiot, he would not have a head-to-head match with the Sichuan branch. “If this plan fails, it will be difficult to blame the Cult Leader for being incompetent.”

The man in black nodded. A few conditions were required for Joo Moon-baek to become the head of the Cult. The absence of the Heavenly Demon or the incompetence of said leader was one of them.

“That’s why I sent one more person.” 

“Who?”

He laughed. “The First Apprentice.”

When this name was mentioned, Joo Moon-baek nodded. As a master, the First Apprentice was on a completely different level. The First Apprentice shouldn’t have much of a problem dealing with the Charred Dragon Unit. 

“But before that, what about the Divine Art of the Heavenly Demon?”

Even if all preparations were complete, it was useless without the Divine Art. This was the surest symbol of legitimacy of leadership. 

Joo Moon-baek laughed at this question. At the same time, a grey haze rose up from his body. The energy was transformed into a flame, covering the fingertips of the man. The color was a little different, but that was definitely the flame that symbolized the Heavenly Demon. Seeing it, the man in black swallowed saliva.

“This is the Divine Flame of the Heavenly Demon.”

The Charred Dragon Unit was settled about three villages away from the Martial Alliance’s branch. They were neither too far nor too close. No matter what happened, they had room to respond. 

As mentioned earlier, members of Team One, including Baek Woon-ji, were collecting information at the Sichuan branch. 

The rest were sharply tuning their condition. 

Woon-seong was no different. 

He had sought out a small vacant piece of land away from the others. There was a sense of calm in the dark atmosphere of this secluded area, away from the reach of people. Here, he began to practice his spear arts. 

There was the sound of the air being perforated, as the White Night Spear was swung. Long grass was cut off with no resistance. The trees hindered the course of the spear, but were cut through. 

Shhh-

Woon-seong unveiled powerful strikes in succession. Following these moves, the spear began to tremble slightly. His fingertips also trembled finely. There was a clear difference between this spear and the old one. 

Did my basic skills become better?

That was likely a reason, but it wasn’t enough. There was a fundamental difference. Woon-seong looked down at his spear. 

The fundamental reason for this change in strength was the spear in his hand.

[1] The Kunlun Mountains constitute one of the longest mountain chains in Asia, extending more than 3,000 km (1,900 mi). Kunlun is originally the name of a mythical mountain believed to be a Taoist paradise.

[2] Just as a reminder, the Cult is located in Xinjiang. By moving southeast, they will pass through Qinghai and then Sichuan.