The Supreme Who Rules the Boundless Sky - Chapter 96

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

Spear Heaven Martial Emperor Episode 96

“Are you sincere?”

Ma Doil asked in a serious tone.

Magli Won nodded his head in response.

“I am sincere. I have no reason to lie to the Sect Leader, do I?”

“You might be trying to confuse us and then cause harm.”

“If that were the purpose, I wouldn’t have bothered with such troublesome methods. The Magli Family has always been that way, hasn’t it?”

“….”

Ma Doil did not deny it.

If the Magli Family wanted to, they could have used much more sinister and destructive methods.

He let out a light sigh and continued speaking.

“Why are you making such a proposal? Are you that afraid of the Seonghwa Sect?”

It was quite a provocative tone.

There was indeed such intent mixed in.

However, Magli Won was not easily provoked and readily nodded his head.

“Yes. To be honest, I am afraid.”

“…!”

“It would be a lie to say I’m not afraid. After all, aren’t they monsters who repelled Sa Doryeon with just a small force? Moreover, as the Sect Leader knows, they’ve formed blood alliances with three major powers. They will rise up and fight as if they themselves were under attack when the Seonghwa Sect is attacked.”

“So you’re saying we should also form an alliance to respond?”

“Exactly. Since the Jiangsu Salt Association is clearly inclined to side with them, we’ve excluded them from consideration. Shouldn’t we at least protect this Jiangsu Martial World among ourselves?”

Simply put, it meant they couldn’t easily give up the vested interests currently called the Three Powers of Jiangsu.

Magli Won grabbed his chin and fell into thought for a moment.

After pondering briefly, he spoke to Magli Won.

“Give me time to think. No matter what, it’s difficult to immediately join hands with you who have been our enemies until now.”

“Of course that would be the case. But I promise on my name. The Magli Family will never betray you.”

“Phew. I understand. Then I’ll consider it positively. You may go now.”

“Yes. I hope you will make a wise decision.”

Magli Won left a polite greeting and disappeared like a shadow.

Left alone, Ma Doil tapped the armrest of the chair he was sitting in.

It was a habit that came out when he was deep in thought.

After a while.

He finally gave an order to his subordinate.

“Bring me a brush, ink, paper, and my official seal.”

“Se, Sect Leader. Do you mean….”

“Yes.”

Ma Doil nodded with a firm expression.

“I must send a reply to the Magli Family.”

* * *

“Haap!”

Whoosh!

“Haap!”

Whoosh!

Every time a battle cry rang out, the sound of cutting through air echoed in the void.

The owners of those sounds were none other than the disciples of the Seonghwa Sect.

Baek Ya from the Fire Sword faction was training them.

“This sight is quite spectacular too.”

While Namgung Cheon and Ak Yeonhu had returned, Bing Seolhye, who was still remaining alone, clapped her hands in delight.

Indeed, the sight of hundreds of martial artists moving in unison, performing the same movements as one, was quite beautiful.

“At this level, they wouldn’t fall behind even compared to our palace’s elites.”

“The Fire Sword faction and Flame Blade faction were originally strong.”

They had possessed tremendous power from the moment Namgung Hyeok discovered them.

Even if not at their peak, they had power strong enough that ordinary sects couldn’t even compare.

‘Such people are now training in group combat under my guidance.’

Starting from methods of coordinating with multiple people, to forming formations, to deploying combined formations to fill gaps in allied forces.

Namgung Hyeok’s goal was to make them into a force that could be immediately useful even on the battlefield.

Individual martial power had already exceeded the standard, and just a bit more formation training would be sufficient.

“At this level, even enemies like the Magli Family wouldn’t be frightening, would they?”

“They’re not frightening. No matter how strong they are, the Seonghwa Sect’s power will be greater.”

“Hoho. What tremendous confidence.”

“I’m merely stating facts.”

Namgung Hyeok said this with a bright smile.

Of course, that didn’t mean he had any intention of underestimating the enemy.

He simply thought that with the Seonghwa Sect’s power, they could defeat opponents of that level without much difficulty.

Bing Seolhye opened her mouth as if regretful.

“Now that I’ve confirmed this place is safe, I should gradually head back too.”

“That’s regrettable.”

“I’d like to stay longer originally, but… the situation around the Northern Sea Ice Palace isn’t normal these days either. Since we also need to prepare, I can’t be away from my post for long.”

“Not normal? Is there some trouble?”

“Yes. You’ve heard that the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult has been stirring recently, haven’t you?”

Of course he had heard.

Located in the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, they had been invaders eyeing the Central Plains for a very long time.

Recently, their movements had become more active.

Perhaps the assassination attempts on the former Namgung Family head and Namgung Cheon were also their doing.

He had heard such indications from the Zhuge Family.

“It seems they’re targeting the Northern Sea.”

“Well, to be precise, they’re trying to draw us in as their subordinate sect. If they put us at the front for the Central Plains invasion, they’ll shed less blood themselves.”

“….”

“Of course, we have not even the slightest intention of going under them. We’ll repel them somehow. So they’ll never dare target our palace again.”

“If you ever need our sect’s help, request support anytime. Didn’t you say it yourself? We are allies. I will never stand by and watch an ally’s crisis.”

“Hoho. Of course. If the situation really becomes bad, I’ll ask the Seonghwa Sect for help, so please assist us then.”

Bing Seolhye smiled playfully and departed.

Namgung Hyeok saw her off quite a long distance.

Since it would take a long time to reach the Northern Sea, he carefully escorted her out of consideration.

“The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult….”

Left alone, he thought about the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

A demonic cult group that had clashed with the Seonghwa Sect several times in the past.

They were a peculiar force that emphasized the law of the strong above all else.

Perhaps that’s why they could become stronger faster than any other force.

‘We might clash with them someday.’

Of course, not right now.

Jiangsu Province, where the Seonghwa Sect was currently located, was quite far from the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s threat.

However, if the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult began advancing into the Central Plains in earnest, or put the Northern Sea Ice Palace in crisis, Namgung Hyeok intended to fight them without hesitation.

‘I need to show that we won’t stand still if they touch our alliance.’

Just as Namgung Hyeok was thinking this.

Jeon Wook came to him as he stood quietly and bowed his head.

“Lord.”

“What’s the matter?”

“There’s something to report.”

“Go ahead.”

“The atmosphere between the Ghost Spear Gate and the Makri Family seems unusual. People have been constantly going back and forth between the two forces.”

“Ho. That means…”

“I think they might have formed an alliance.”

“It’s not strange. No matter how much they fought before, joining hands against a powerful enemy like the Sacred Fire Gate is a natural strategy.”

“What should we do?”

“Leave them be for now. There’s nothing we can do just because they’ve formed an alliance.”

He wanted to launch a preemptive strike, but doing so would give the other side justification.

In other words, it was better to watch what they would do first and then respond accordingly.

And within a few days, Namgung Hyeok was able to see how the two sects would act.

They were applying pressure to the surrounding areas.

* * *

After the shocking founding ceremony.

Countless small and medium-sized sects in Jiangsu Province competed to build relationships with the Sacred Fire Gate.

The Sacred Fire Gate actually accepted them without turning them away.

While each of their individual powers might be weak, when combined they would become tremendous military strength.

But now the Ghost Spear Gate and Makri Family were reportedly pressuring those sects that had formed ties with the Sacred Fire Gate.

From what he heard, they were sending military forces to subtly threaten that it wouldn’t be fun if they joined hands with the Sacred Fire Gate, and they were also interfering with their businesses.

Of course, that story naturally reached Namgung Hyeok’s ears.

After hearing all the stories, the first words he uttered were:

“How petty.”

It was literally petty.

To think they weren’t even attacking directly, but bullying the weak sects in the vicinity.

They probably did such things hoping their targets would cut ties with the Sacred Fire Gate, but it was truly unseemly.

However, it was also effective.

“Many sects that formed alliances with our main sect are afraid. They’re worried that their turn might be next. We can’t just leave this alone.”

“I think so too. If we ignore this as a trivial matter, we’ll have no chance to act later.”

If they ignored those bastards like this, trust would be damaged.

It would be right to respond immediately.

“Baek Ilpajang. Maeng Ilpajang.”

“Yes, Lord.”

The two men bowed their heads respectfully.

“You two will have to work hard. Lead troops out and stop the tyranny of the Ghost Spear Gate and Makri Family.”

“We accept your command.”

The two immediately bowed and left for the sites where incidents were reportedly occurring.

“Geomlip.”

“Yes, Lord.”

“You’ll come with me to visit the Ghost Spear Gate directly. We need to meet their leader face to face and have a talk.”

“Hmm, wouldn’t that be too dangerous?”

Ho Young expressed concern.

The Ghost Spear Gate was practically enemy territory.

But Namgung Hyeok shook his head. He chuckled and said:

“That’s why I’m taking Geomlip. And no matter how I think about it, the Ghost Spear Gate should be better than the Makri Family.”

“Hmm. That’s true.”

“The Makri Family has ties to the Blood Heaven Cult, so it’s a place we must inevitably oppose, but the Ghost Spear Gate isn’t. If we guarantee their sect’s interests appropriately, they might come over.”

Namgung Hyeok said this and secured his treasured sword, the Azure Heaven Sword, at his waist.

So Geomlip also finished preparing to leave by checking his weapons.

“If you’re going anyway, take me or this guy along. Of course, it’s not that I don’t trust the leader or Geomlip, but…”

“Either way, being careful about safety won’t hurt. Besides, aren’t we the Four Great Dharma Protectors who guard our Lord?”

Ho Young and Jeon Wook earnestly requested.

After thinking for a moment, Namgung Hyeok nodded.

Thus Jeon Wook joined the party.

In numbers, just three people.

But with this personnel alone, they had enough power to annihilate any ordinary sect.

The three took a boat to move quickly toward Yangzhou, where the Ghost Spear Gate was located.

However.

“Hahahaha!”

“Stop your boat obediently!”

They encountered unwelcome guests when they hadn’t even traveled far by boat.

They were water bandits operating in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.

Namgung Hyeok looked at them with a relaxed attitude and chuckled.

“It doesn’t seem like a coincidence, does it?”

“Right. It’s probably the same reason we encountered water bandits when we went to pick up the Salt Island faction last time.”

“Then the speculation we made back then becomes more likely to be true. The speculation that the Blood Heaven Cult is connected to the Yangtze Waterway Association.”

“I think so too.”

The three conversed without any agitation even as the water bandit ship approached right before their eyes.

Soon, swoosh! Thunk!

Even when the grappling hooks for the water bandits to board were set, they took no particular action.

Namgung Hyeok watched the water bandits climbing over via the grappling hooks and gave an order.

“Keep the leader alive and bring him here.”

“Yes.”

At that moment, Jeon Wook and So Geomlip leaped toward the grappling hooks with terrifying aura.

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