The Supreme Who Rules the Boundless Sky - Chapter 113

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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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Spear Heaven Martial Emperor Episode 113

Namgung Hyeok’s group had a peaceful journey home.

No one dared to mess with the fifty or so warriors who emanated extraordinary auras.

They did pass through places where bandits were known to appear…

But even those bandits, knowing the value of their lives, didn’t show their faces when Namgung Hyeok’s group passed by.

Thanks to this, they were able to reach Jiangsu Province without difficulty.

“Have you returned, Lord?”

Upon returning from Yunnan, the protectors and other executives came out to welcome them in advance.

“I’m back. Have you all been well?”

“Yes. We’ve been doing well without any particular problems. But who are these warriors you’ve brought with you?”

“Right. They are warriors from the Fire Essence faction.”

“…!”

At the mention of the Fire Essence faction, the eyes of the Fire Sword faction and Salt Blade faction members changed.

Baek Ya, who could be considered their representative, smiled and said:

“You’ve succeeded, Lord.”

“That’s right. Heo Un, introduce yourself.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all like this. I am Heo Un, acting leader of the Fire Essence faction.”

“Acting leader? Then the faction leader is…”

“Heo Jin is old, so he couldn’t come with us. But he has agreed to support us both materially and spiritually from Yunnan, so please understand.”

“Yes. I understand.”

“Welcome, Young Hero Heo.”

Simple greetings were exchanged.

After confirming that their atmosphere wasn’t bad, Namgung Hyeok asked Jeon Wook:

“What is the current state of the Sacred Fire Sect?”

“While you were away, Lord, we initially recruited new warriors. Roughly around five hundred in number.”

“Oh. Are they currently in training?”

“Yes. Since they don’t belong to any faction yet, we decided to have them build basic martial arts first, then decide where they’ll go based on their specialties.”

“Well thought out. What about future plans?”

“Once these people have adapted, and we have the resources to recruit more warriors, we plan to increase our numbers in second and third phases. First, we’ll need to spend time stabilizing our trade routes.”

“Good. I’ve brought some things that might help, so distribute them well.”

“Things that might help?”

“I brought some wealth and elixirs from Yunnan.”

He showed them the silver coins contained in large chests.

Surprise appeared in the eyes of Jeon Wook and the other executives.

The value of what was contained inside seemed to be worth tens of thousands of taels.

“How did you come by such a large sum? Was the Fire Essence faction this wealthy?”

“It’s not from the Fire Essence faction. It would be a long story to explain. Let’s eat together and I’ll tell you slowly.”

“Yes. I’ll have a banquet prepared.”

Soon, a welcome banquet was held for Namgung Hyeok’s safe return.

Namgung Hyeok drank warm liquor while telling them the general story.

Everyone was amazed by the story of how the three of them destroyed the Thunder Sword Gate.

“Truly befitting of our Lord.”

“To handle a sect of five hundred members with such a small number…”

“Moreover, didn’t you give those Spear Point Sect bastards a good beating? Just hearing about it is refreshing.”

“Lord, then is all this money from the Thunder Sword Gate?”

“That’s right.”

Namgung Hyeok nodded at So Yeon’s question.

“I brought more than half of the elixirs that Hwajung Trading Company was distributing. Honestly, I didn’t expect them to give so much, but Merchant Leader Heo gladly provided them.”

“The development of the Sacred Fire Sect is good for our trading company as well.”

Heo Un, who came as the Fire Essence faction’s representative, said with a bright smile.

Namgung Hyeok nodded and poured him liquor.

“Thanks to this, the sect’s power will greatly increase. I’m truly grateful.”

“Not at all. If it can help the Sect Master, that’s truly fortunate.”

Heo Un answered with a humble attitude. The executives looked at him with satisfaction.

“By the way, how is the situation in Jiangsu Province?”

“It’s not much different from before you left, Lord. The Jiangsu Salt Association has become practically our ally since dealing with Makriseoga’s salt fields, and Gwichang Gate is being cautious, worried they might be next.”

“What about the state of North and South Sado Region?”

“The stalemate continues. In my opinion, the Sado Region civil war will probably end like this.”

So Geomlip spoke calmly. Lee Cheolgun’s expression hardened slightly at this.

“The Sado Region civil war will end… That’s disappointing.”

“Don’t be too impatient. An opportunity will come anyway.”

“I know. It’s just that I can’t shake the feeling that only I suffered losses.”

It seemed anger was welling up from the fact that only his forces had been completely destroyed.

Namgung Hyeok didn’t bother offering him words of comfort.

‘After all, I played a big part in destroying his forces.’

So there was no need to unnecessarily provoke his feelings by offering comfort.

Instead, he asked about something else.

“How is the state of the trade routes?”

“That’s somewhat problematic. The Yangtze Water Bandits, who are hostile to us, are firmly entrenched there, putting a brake on trade using the Grand Canal and Yangtze River.”

“That’s definitely a problem we need to solve quickly.”

Namgung Hyeok nodded.

The Yangtze River.

It was the largest river dividing Central Plains from north to south.

It was the core of waterway trade, passing through more than ten provinces.

Why else would they say that whoever controls the Yangtze River controls Central Plains?

Now, Jiangsu Province, where the Sacred Fire Sect was located, was positioned downstream of the Yangtze River.

In other words, they could go anywhere by going upstream against the Yangtze’s current.

This meant this place was suitable for making big money through trade.

If only the threat called the Yangtze Water Bandits disappeared, the Sacred Fire Sect could use this to secure funding.

“Hmm. I need to find a way to deal with those guys somehow.”

“How about we start by sweeping away the ones who have set up shop nearby?”

“That’s a good idea. But we need to be careful too. Fighting on the river is very different from fighting on land.”

Although Namgung Hyeok and his comrades had fought in northern wars, even they had rarely experienced such naval combat.

At most, they had been attacked by water bandits twice while traveling back and forth.

But to seriously subjugate the Yangtze Water Bandits, more specialized knowledge was needed.

For that…

“Let’s arrange a meeting with the Jiangsu Salt Association first.”

Since they sold salt through the Yangtze River, they would be more familiar with naval combat.

“We’ll also cooperate with the Namgung Family Estate to carry out operations.”

The Yangtze River also passed through Anhui, the Namgung Family Estate’s territory, beyond Jiangsu Province.

This meant the Namgung Family Estate could also fully participate in their subjugation.

Especially Hwa County in Anhui, which was directly connected to the Yangtze River, was said to suffer severe damage from water bandits regularly.

So the Namgung Family Estate had sufficient justification to intervene.

“I’d like to involve the Martial Alliance if possible…”

“It’s uncertain how the Martial Alliance views our Sacred Fire Sect. They might not cooperate with us.”

“That’s true. But since it’s not entirely impossible, let’s not rush to conclusions.”

“Yes.”

Jeon Wook nodded.

Namgung Hyeok burst into laughter seeing the executives lost in their own thoughts.

“Haha. I started talking about work right after we returned. Everyone just enjoy yourselves for now. When else would we strengthen our bonds if not at times like this?”

He said this while easing the slightly tense atmosphere.

Fortunately, his intention seemed to work, as within half an hour, an atmosphere of free conversation had formed among everyone.

‘Fortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any atmosphere of factions rejecting each other.’

Namgung Hyeok secretly observed the atmosphere while pouring alcohol down his throat.

He had worried about what would happen if the Fire Sword faction or Flame Blade faction, who had established themselves first, tried to exclude the Fire Essence faction, but it seemed there was no such issue.

‘I should keep a close watch. If such a thing happens, I’ll need to take immediate action.’

If division occurred among the same family like that, the entire organization could collapse in an instant.

Namgung Hyeok had no intention of witnessing such a sight.

If any problems arose, he planned to intervene immediately and adjust the situation.

‘Well, neither Baek Ilpajang nor Maeng Ilpajang are bad people.’

Though it was a bit concerning that Heo Un, who came as the representative of the Fire Essence faction, was somewhat young, they should be able to get along well somehow.

‘By the way, is there only one remaining faction now?’

The Sacred Spear faction.

Even when asked, the Fire Essence faction answered that they didn’t know about their whereabouts.

But Namgung Hyeok wasn’t disappointed. Rather, he thought it was a miracle that three factions had gathered in such a short time.

‘These people who scattered decades ago have come together, so we were lucky.’

If such luck continued, they would be able to find the whereabouts of the Sacred Spear faction soon.

And if that happened…

‘Sacred Fire Gate will regain its past strength.’

Namgung Hyeok’s eyes gleamed.

* * *

After the banquet and rest.

Namgung Hyeok began distributing the Fire Essence.

First, he gave mid-grade Fire Essence to the executives according to their contributions to Sacred Fire Gate so far.

He even bestowed low to mid-grade Fire Essence to ordinary disciples who weren’t executives, according to their merits.

However, he didn’t use everything and kept some aside.

First, it would take time to create Fire Essence again…

And showing that there were remaining rewards could boost the disciples’ morale.

“Fire Essence will continue to be given to those who achieve merit or prove their potential. So everyone should be faithful to their roles.”

“Yes!”

Namgung Hyeok didn’t just distribute Fire Essence.

He distributed the silver coins seized from Thunder Sword Gate and the profits gained through Jiangsu Province’s land trade routes, sharing them with his subordinates.

The level was more than thirty percent higher compared to other sects.

So the disciples’ satisfaction was extremely high.

Sacred Fire Gate had not only become Jiangsu Province’s top sect in a short time, but the treatment of its members was also good, so there was no reason for dissatisfaction.

Meanwhile.

“At this rate, the entire Jiangsu Province will be devoured by that bastard.”

Gwichang Gate, located in northern Jiangsu Province, was in a difficult situation.

Of course, Gwichang Gate’s influence in northern Jiangsu Province was still intact…

But they instinctively felt that not much time remained.

If Sacred Fire Gate continued to grow at this pace, all the sects following Gwichang Gate would surely attach themselves to Sacred Fire Gate.

“I know that too. But there’s no solution! No solution!”

Gwichang Gate Master Ma Doil struck his chair armrest and shouted irritably.

“Damn it. If I had known this would happen, I should have somehow supported Makriseoga to stop Sacred Fire Gate…”

But it was too late to regret now.

It was Ma Doil who had gotten scared and withdrawn at that time.

And even if they had participated in the battle, whether the result would have been different was uncertain.

Sacred Fire Gate had achieved a literal overwhelming victory against Makriseoga.

Even if Gwichang Gate had been added to that situation, it was hard to think the result would have changed.

“Damn it. Do we have to hand over Jiangsu Province’s hegemony to those bastards like this?”

It was when Ma Doil was muttering like that.

“Huhu. Gwichang Gate Master. You seem to have many worries.”

Someone’s voice reached his ears as he was lost in thought.

“What bastard is that!”

Ma Doil angrily shouted while looking for the owner of the voice.

For mere subordinates to address him so insolently was unforgivable.

But he soon had to stiffen his expression.

“You, who are you?”

What was there was a person he had never seen before in his life.

“Maeng Cheon.”

The long-haired man there answered with a smirk.

“One of the Seven Death Blades of Blood Heaven Cult.”

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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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