Ascension of the Heavenly Demon - Chapter 27

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 27

I really got beaten to near death.

In my entire life, it was definitely the first time I’d been beaten like that.

What kind of power could possibly be in those poking fingers that my whole body twisted and my bones felt like they were breaking at every joint, making the sky look yellow?

“Your name is Sayo?”

“That’s right!”

Sayo, kneeling in the mud pit, answered vigorously.

Though he was much younger than her, wasn’t the martial world a place where strength meant age and status?

Her mouth was split, her face was swollen, and her whole body ached so much she wanted to lie down and rest regardless of the mud, but she had to do her best to keep her back straight.

And the Beggar Sect members being used as chairs, stacked under Zhuge Munhyeon’s bottom, were careful even with their breathing despite having regained consciousness.

They were afraid of getting beaten again for making the chair uncomfortable by moving while breathing.

“Did I say I was from the Zhuge Family or not?”

“I’m sorry. I had so much resentment built up against the Honyeon Alliance that I misunderstood…”

“Still, when someone speaks, you should listen! Bas… ugh, I really don’t want to say such words.”

“Th-that’s…”

Even though he only slightly frowned, Sayo flinched and shrank her neck.

Rebellion?

You only think such thoughts when you haven’t been beaten, but after feeling pain that penetrates to the bone, you naturally become respectful.

Of course, it was questionable where exactly he resembled a descendant of the Zhuge Family, known as gentlemen of the martial world, but she had to believe it.

There’s no law saying a family can’t have one mutant born into it.

Right now, survival comes first.

“Good. Let’s say we’ve cleared up our mutual misunderstanding, and I’ll just ask a few things.”

“Please ask. I will answer with all sincerity.”

“What was your reason for spying on the Honyeon Alliance?”

“That’s…”

Sayo hesitated for a moment.

“Should I carve you up completely and bury you in the reed field? It would make good fertilizer.”

Carving flesh.

Wasn’t he talking about cutting a person into neat squares like butcher shop meat? How could such a person be born from a scholarly family that’s careful with every word?

But looking at those eyes, it seemed like he really would do it, sending chills down her spine.

Swallowing her saliva, Sayo confessed about the relationship between the Honyeon Alliance and them.

“The Branch Manager, who is also my master, is being held captive by the Honyeon Alliance.”

“What?”

“They’re trying to extract the information we have…”

“That’s ridiculous? A Beggar’s Sect Branch Manager got captured by Unorthodox Sect bastards like the Honyeon Alliance? Is the Beggar’s Sect that lacking in skill?”

“Well… we also have our circumstances.”

“Circumstances?”

“Actually, we’re not from this area.”

“Ah, come to think of it, you said Hanyang Prefecture earlier?”

“That’s right.”

Hanyang Prefecture.

It’s an administrative region that includes the southern Wuhan area, based on the Yangtze River that flows through Hubei Province.

“If it’s Hanyang Prefecture, it should be quite large?”

“That’s right. At one time, it was a huge branch that encompassed six counties in the southern Yangtze River region, including Wuhan.”

“Then why did you come all the way here and get captured by something like the Honyeon Alliance? This place belongs to Huangzhou Prefecture.”

“Th-that’s…”

Seeing her hesitate again even knowing she’d get beaten, it must definitely be internal Beggar’s Sect business.

But she soon opened her mouth.

“The Beggar’s Sect’s situation became like that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Long ago, after the Alliance was dissolved, the Beggar’s Sect was also broken into small pieces, and the branches with nowhere to go had no choice but to seek refuge with the most powerful sect in their region.”

“What?”

“It was a choice for survival.”

“Hmm… well, that makes sense. Continue.”

“But as the Black River Gate, which had great influence in Hanyang Prefecture, became even stronger, the Myeongcheon Alliance that our branch was affiliated with was destroyed.”

“So?”

“The Branch Manager said he couldn’t share the same goals as the Unorthodox Sects, but…”

“Internal conflict arose.”

“That’s right. The Branch Manager had no choice but to flee north from the attacks of sect members who had allied with the Black River Gate.”

“His injuries must have been severe?”

“Yes. Though we learned the truth too late, he had already been captured by the Honyeon Alliance…”

“What’s the reason? What power does a banished Branch Manager have?”

“Well… I heard that Huangzhou Prefecture was a region where Wudang and Zhuge had strong influence, so they didn’t bother establishing a branch and only operated with sub-divisions.”

“So they want to rally the scattered Beggar Sect members through the banished Branch Manager? To use them as information assets?”

“Yes.”

“Is that possible?”

“The Branch Manager had great respect within the sub-divisions. As long as they hold his life, it’s difficult for the beggars in each sub-division to ignore their requests.”

“Hmm…”

The current situation of the Beggar’s Sect.

Even they, who once boasted a hundred thousand sect members and were said to have eyes and ears everywhere under heaven, couldn’t go against the flow of the world.

Could the regional powers have left them alone?

If they controlled the Beggar’s Sect, all the information under heaven would fall into their hands.

If they couldn’t become allies, they might pass their information to enemies, so they were probably attacked first.

In that chaos, they were torn apart and came to depend on different forces.

Wudang or Zhuge originally regarded the Beggar’s Sect as nothing more than little mice who brought news, so they wouldn’t have embraced them.

‘Well, they couldn’t mix in from the beginning.’

Nine Sects and One Alliance.

They weren’t called that for no reason.

It reveals the pride of the Nine Sects that was subtly embedded.

The noble families stuck together, and the Nine Sects regarded the Beggar’s Sect as their subordinates.

Stupid bastards…

How important the Beggar’s Sect’s role was.

They probably don’t even know how much effort the Demonic Sect and Unorthodox Sects had to make to avoid the eyes and ears of the beggar bastards who were everywhere.

Also, their information assets would have been most useful to the Zhuge Family, which produced Martial Alliance strategists.

Information was the most important thing for devising strategies.

‘Stupidly, Zhuge failed to embrace the Beggar’s Sect. That’s why they’re in this state. Being ignored even by small and medium Unorthodox Sect factions. Tsk tsk.’

But!

Now it must be different.

I’ve decided to nurture them. Myself.

And if the Zhuge Family wants to regain its past glory, the first thing they must obtain is information.

Sayo.

A sect token holder and the Branch Manager’s disciple.

Perhaps meeting her is another fateful encounter.

No, it’s destiny.

Though he disliked the monks, he had clashed with them so often that he had encountered many of their Buddhist thoughts.

Temporal causation.

Like the saying that even a leaf’s fall is predetermined, meeting Sayo at this moment when he intended to strike the Honyeon Alliance might be destined fate, an opportunity.

He had to seize it.

Opportunities were not only hard to recognize, but when they came, one had to grasp them.

Above all, it would be troublesome if the Honyeon Alliance, which opposed the Zhuge Family, gained the Beggar’s Sect.

“Sayo.”

“Yes.”

“If we were to rescue your master, what could you give us?”

“What? You would rescue him?”

“I’m thinking of erasing the Honyeon Alliance.”

“Wh-what do you mean?”

Sayo looked bewildered.

The Zhuge Family attacking the Honyeon Alliance?

It was absurd.

The current Zhuge Family was in a situation no different from being surrounded on all sides.

Unable to expand westward due to Wudang, and blocked by unorthodox sect forces to the southeast, they were continuously declining.

If the main house moved, they might be able to sweep away the Honyeon Alliance, but…

“The moment you attack the Honyeon Alliance, wouldn’t you lose more?”

“Why do you think that?”

“As I mentioned, our branch was controlling the Huangzhou Prefecture branch hall, so we know the situation to some extent. The unorthodox forces surrounding the Zhuge Family are divided individually, but they secretly maintain alliances.”

“Hmm.”

“If the Zhuge Family’s main house moves to strike the Honyeon Alliance, the adjacent unorthodox forces will immediately attack Yungzhong Mountain in unison. Can the current Zhuge Family withstand that? Though each individual force is small, the combined power of the unorthodox sects surpasses the Zhuge main house. Meanwhile, hasn’t the Zhuge Family’s eyes and ears been dulled for a long time?”

A smile appeared on Zhuge Munhyeon’s lips at Sayo’s words.

Though their power had diminished, their reputation had not.

They were reading the situation.

As she said, if the Beggar’s Sect branch manager captured by the Honyeon Alliance could rally the sect members hiding in Huangzhou Prefecture, that is, northern Hubei Province… this would be of great help to the Zhuge Family’s future moves.

Indeed… he had to get his hands on this.

Smiling slyly, he spoke to Sayo.

“I never said the main house would move, did I?”

“What?”

“Only the Yanghyeon Branch will attack the Honyeon Alliance.”

“Yanghyeon… Wh-what do you mean?”

Sayo’s distorted face was full of disbelief.

“The Zhuge will reclaim their former glory starting with the Honyeon Alliance. Like long ago when they dominated Hubei.”

“What?”

“So how about it? Lend us a hand and dream of returning to those days when you could see and hear everything throughout the Central Plains?”

“What are you saying now…”

“Wouldn’t we both gain much? While the Zhuge expand, you could also broaden your influence.”

Sayo couldn’t easily agree.

The youthful ambitions of a young martial artist had dreams but lacked certainty.

What method could the Zhuge possibly have…

“I know, you’d need certainty to stake something on it.”

“…”

Zhuge Munhyeon smiled as if he could see right through her thoughts.

“I’ll show you.”

“Show me what?”

“If you see the Yanghyeon Branch alone bring down the Honyeon Alliance, wouldn’t that establish the conditions for negotiation?”

“Th-that’s…”

“You have nothing to lose, right? I’m not asking you to fight together, just watch from behind.”

“…”

“Instead, I need information about the Honyeon Alliance. You can do that much, can’t you? If we keep it secret anyway, no one will know you helped us, and if we lose to the Honyeon Alliance, you can just pull out then.”

“Hmm.”

It was a gamble without having to place a bet.

They had nothing to lose.

But if he won?

They could share in the winnings he claimed.

“I can’t promise for certain, but if the main house permits it later, I’ll help you establish a new main hall near Yungzhong Mountain.”

“A n-new main hall?!”

“Isn’t that tremendous compensation?”

Saliva was swallowed audibly.

Not just Sayo, but even the sect members crushed under Zhuge Munhyeon’s bottom.

“What happens if I refuse?”

“You’ll have to die.”

“What?”

“The branch manager is captured, isn’t he? It wouldn’t be good if our plans leaked before we even fight.”

“…”

“You know about silencing witnesses, right?”

The moment he smiled and made a throat-slitting gesture with his finger.

“Ugh.”

Those crushed beneath let out breathless groans under tremendous pressure.

Creaking sounds were heard, and the one at the very bottom was sucked into the mud.

“W-wait a moment!”

“Have you decided?”

“Please withdraw your aura first.”

“I asked if you’ve decided.”

Despite Sayo’s plea, Zhuge Munhyeon’s aura didn’t diminish. Rather, it grew stronger.

“I-I’ll do it! I’ll provide the information.”

“Good.”

With a grinning smile, the aura vanished instantly, and Sayo rubbed her chilled nape.

For a moment, she had felt the illusion of her throat being cut.

Terrifying.

He seemed light but became heavy in an instant, seemed gentle but was full of cruelty beneath.

As if good and evil coexisted within him, making it impossible to predict which would emerge at any moment…

But she decided to climb aboard.

Whether it would become borrowing a tiger’s or lead to ruin, as he said, it wasn’t a losing deal.

“Glub glub glub.”

“…”

While concentrating intently, the sect member crushed at the very bottom with his face buried in the mud created air bubbles.

He’d suffocate to death at this rate.

“Um, could you please stand up for now…”

“Ah, I forgot. It was too comfortable.”

“…”

Zhuge Munhyeon stood up as if he had just realized his mistake.

He apparently hadn’t cared from the beginning.

The sect member at the very bottom must have had his fill of mud by now.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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