Wuhan in Hubei Province had always been a vital hub of waterways and commerce.
Here, one could find the famous Huanghe Lou, regarded as one of the three great pleasure towers of Jiangnan, and a place where, throughout the four seasons, streams of travelers never ceased.
To the east lay Donghu, a scenic wonder rivaling Hangju’s West Lake.
With a surface area of over a million pyeong, its beauty was renowned throughout the world.
However, what made Wuhan truly shine now was something else entirely—the fact that the Cheonyeon Union, renowned as one of the three great powers of the Martial World, had made this city its stronghold.
Thirty years ago, the war with the Demonic Sect shattered the ancient order of the Justice Faction that had stood firm for centuries.
Ironically, this became a tremendous opportunity for the surviving sects.
They were able to seize lucrative interests they’d never dared touch before, and without much effort.
The competition for these interests was beyond imagination, and in the end, it led to bloody tragedy.
The sects, always calling for chivalry and justice, now revealed their true intentions behind such noble-sounding pretexts.
The hearts of the people grew even more unsettled than during the war with the Demonic Sect, and the common folk no longer respected the righteous factions.
Now, they were only objects of fear.
Unable to simply stand by any longer, the elders of the Martial World gathered in one place to resolve the issue.
But, after their own sects had suffered near-annihilation in the war, compromise and concession were far from easy.
Heated discussions turned into fierce disputes, and finally devolved into each side preparing to use force against the other.
Only then did the greatest elders of the time—Damywon Daesa, the Bulseong of Shaolin, and Namgung Suchan, the Geomseong of the Namgung Family—step in to mediate.
The two men sighed deeply as they watched the sect representatives, consumed by greed, unwilling to listen to anyone.
Yet, there was no obvious solution.
In the end, they were forced to divide the factions and prevent further pointless bloodshed.
Thus, the Nine Great Sects and the Segayeonhap split: the Nine Great Sects established the Changcheon League in Chang’an, Shaanxi Province, while the Segayeonhap formed the Cheonyeon Union in Wuhan, Hubei Province—leading to the current era.
Cheonyeon Union was structured as One Council, One Hall, One Court, Three Pavilions, and Four Squads.
The One Council was the Je Pyeonghoe, the Union’s highest decision-making body, formed by agreement among the fifteen families who participated in the Union’s founding.
Regardless of each family’s size, every family had one vote, and the leader of the Council was the Ryunjoo.
The One Hall was the Manjeongjeon, the Ryunjoo’s office.
The One Court was the Seryuwon, the council of elders.
The Three Pavilions consisted of the Mangeumgak for finance, the Jipbeopgak for Union law, and the Heukhodang for intelligence.
The Four Squads were actual combat organizations: the Cheonryongdae, made up of martial artists over thirty from the families; the Suryongdae, consisting of those under thirty; the Baekryongdae, formed from martial artists of the lesser families and sects; and the Suhodae, responsible for the Union’s security and escort.
The One Hall, One Court, and Heukhodang were located in the inner compound, while the rest were in the outer compound.
Combined, the inner and outer compounds of Cheonyeon Union spanned tens of thousands of pyeong.
This immense scale symbolized not just the organization’s size, but its overwhelming influence and power.
At the very beginning, thirty years ago, there weren’t many permanent staff members, but now, the Union’s resident population alone had grown to nearly ten thousand.
In a corner of the inner compound stood a two-story building, where countless carrier pigeons flew in and out.
The second floor of the building was divided into two rooms, each with a large window.
When a pigeon entered through one window, its message tube was retrieved. After the message was removed, the pigeon was sent to the adjoining room.
That room’s walls were packed with birdcages, each labeled with a region’s name.
Retrieved messages were sent downstairs, where they were classified into five grades and sorted into corresponding rooms.
In each room, staff analyzed the messages’ content—some were included in the daily military report, while others were immediately reported, depending on urgency.
Seohakpyo, an agent from the Heukhodang, was, as usual, reviewing the messages assigned to him in Room 3 on the first floor.
Seohakpyo had been sorting messages and drafting reports here for over ten years.
He wasn’t outstandingly capable, nor was he lazy.
He was a diligent, sincere man, always faithful to his duties and content with his current life.
[Affiliation: Heukhodang, Hangju]
[Name: Heukhyeon 75]
[Hangju’s Black Society War]
[Destruction of Baekryonghoe in Hangju.]
The message stated that a war had broken out among the black societies in Hangju, and as a result, the Baekryonghoe had been wiped out.
Seohakpyo held the message and pondered for a moment.
Recently, wars among the black societies had become much more frequent in the major points of each province.
The number of messages arriving daily had sharply increased, most dealing with black society conflicts.
Whenever these groups started a war, they tended to utterly crush their rivals—an approach meant to prevent any lingering threats.
It seemed that Hangju’s black societies, too, had gone to war.
However, there was a key difference.
While most recent wars had ended with one power unifying all the rest, the message from Hangju showed something different.
To Seohakpyo’s knowledge, Hangju had four balanced black society groups.
But this message only reported the fall of one group—unlike the total victories seen elsewhere.
‘Did they report in before the war ended?’
That was possible, but the uneasy feeling wouldn’t leave him.
Unsure whether to report this at once or simply include it in the daily report, Seohakpyo hesitated for a moment.
Unable to shake off his sense of unease, he decided to report immediately, gathered the message, and headed to the chief’s office.
The chief of Heukhodang was Je Galun, cousin to Je Galseon, known as the “Brain” of the Union.
In his mid-forties this year, Je Galun, with his scholarly appearance, was known throughout Heukhodang for his cold, precise judgment.
Seohakpyo knocked on the chief’s door.
“Come in.”
As Seohakpyo entered, Je Galun gazed at him and asked, “What is it?”
“I came to report, sir.”
“Speak.”
“I think you should read this directly.”
Seohakpyo handed over the message.
Je Galun read it quietly, and a subtle sharpness appeared in his eyes.
“What’s bothering you?”
“You’re aware, sir, that power struggles among the black societies have been erupting simultaneously all over the central plains. This message could be seen as more of the same, but the situation in Hangju seems a bit different.”
“How so?”
“In other places, one group ends up absorbing the rest, but in Hangju, only one out of four groups has disappeared. It’s a clearly different trend from elsewhere.”
“So, what do you think?”
“I believe we need to send someone to investigate the situation directly.”
Je Galun looked away from the message and fell into thought.
The deeper his contemplation, the stiffer his expression became.
Noticing this, Seohakpyo sensed it was time to withdraw.
Je Galun had a habit of sinking into his own thoughts, and if interrupted, one could end up trapped with him for hours.
“Then I’ll take my leave, sir.”
Seohakpyo quickly left the chief’s office and returned to his own room.
There was nothing more for him to do regarding this matter.
***
On a slightly elevated ground overlooking the entire Cheonyeon Union stood a grand four-story building.
A large signboard hung at the entrance, its characters bold and powerful.
Manjeongjeon.
The Ryunjoo Doje Yaryulcheong’s office.
Entering the hall, one would see a space nearly twenty jang long, with a long table that could seat more than fifty people at once.
Je Galseon, the Union’s strategist, was meeting the Ryunjoo there.
“What’s the matter?”
“A message just arrived. There’s been a black society war in Hangju as well, but the situation seems unusual. I believe we should confirm it in person.”
“Is that so? Then do as you see fit.”
“If it’s all right, I’d like to use this as a chance for the Suryongdae squad leaders to gain some experience by sending them on this mission.”
“That sounds fine. Haha.”
The Ryunjoo gave a good-natured smile.
“Then I’ll proceed.”
***
A short while later, an official order, stamped with the Ryunjoo’s seal, was handed to Ilsumuhan Murong Jinhyeok, the Suryongdae captain.
Murong Jinhyeok was the eldest son of the current Murong Family head. It was said that no one had yet mastered their family’s signature sword art, the Flare-Splitting Sword, to its full extent, but Jinhyeok had achieved nearly ninth-level proficiency.
His character was cold and unyielding, making him difficult for his subordinates to approach.
“Whom should I send?”
The Suryongdae had about five hundred members.
They were composed of promising talents and warriors from the five great families: Namgung, Ha Buk Paengga, Murong, Je Gal, and Yaryul, divided into five squads for efficiency.
[First Squad – Namgung Family: Squad Leader Namgung Jaeyeong, Deputy Nangung Unhye.]
[Second Squad – Ha Buk Paengga: Squad Leader Paeng Cheonho, Deputy Paeng Suhyeon.]
[Third Squad – Murong Family: Squad Leader Murong Wi, Deputy Murong Hye.]
[Fourth Squad – Je Gal Family: Squad Leader Je Gal Yong, Deputy Je Gal Chu.]
[Fifth Squad – Yaryul Family: Squad Leader Yaryul Myeong, Deputy Yaryul Hui.]
***
After thorough deliberation, Murong Jinhyeok called for Paeng Musang, the deputy captain known as Byeokryeokdo, discussed a few matters, then summoned all the squad leaders.
“Everyone, take your seats.”
The summoned squad leaders sat and looked to Murong Jinhyeok.
“We have a mission. There’s been a report of suspicious movements among Hangju’s black societies. We’re to go there and verify the situation. The information suggests there’s no particular danger, and normally, the regular squad members could handle it. But after consulting the deputy captain, we decided this is a good chance for the squad leaders themselves to gain field experience. Any questions?”
“Are just the five of us going?”
“You may decide among yourselves, but the total number must not exceed ten.”
“When do we depart?”
“Tomorrow at the hour of the Rabbit (5-6 a.m.). As you leave, stop by Mangeumgak to receive necessary supplies and funds.”
“Yes, sir.”
With that, the squad leaders left for Mangeumgak.
“Let’s just go by ourselves.”
“Will that work? The deputies probably already know.”
“That’s why we should sneak into Mangeumgak, grab what we need, and leave right away.”
“All right, let’s hurry.”
However, when they arrived at Mangeumgak, the squad deputies were already standing guard at the entrance.
In truth, recent lack of missions had left everyone idle and restless in their quarters.
Naturally, when the captain summoned the squad leaders, everyone’s attention turned that way.
Deputy Squad Leader Murong Hye of the Third Squad had predicted that if a mission came down, the squad leaders would rush straight to Mangeumgak.
So she brought all the deputies to stand watch there.
Faced with the deputies’ fervent protest, the squad leaders surrendered, and the personnel bound for Hangju were decided.
The Suryongdae squad leaders and deputies, thinking it was an easy assignment, departed Cheonyeon Union the next day at dawn, not knowing the arduous journey that awaited them.
***
At that time, near Wanshik Sanjang, north of Jangheung in Zhejiang Province.
“Report!”
“The one who killed Amyoungsipho in Hangju has been identified as a young wanderer named Gangchan.”
“And Mak Bi?”
“The one who killed Mak Bi was a mysterious figure called Cheongung. After that day, he vanished.”
“Cheongung?”
“Those present saw people killed by arrows. That’s why they started calling him Cheongung.”
“Arrows?”
“Yes.”
“So Mak Bi was killed by an arrow?”
“No, sir. Mak Bi had a hole about two chi wide in his chest.”
“A hole that size… Gunpowder?”
“Anything else?”
“Nothing except the nickname Cheongung is known.”
“In the end, you’ve just wasted time. Useless fools.”
“We’re sorry.”
After a moment’s pause, the man in black spoke as if making a vow.
“This is the last chance. This time, put the Heukhodang, which just unified Suzhou, at the forefront. Then send Geonsang Gwae as the vanguard to wipe them out. Amyoungdae’s ten men will support from behind and clean up. Finish it as quickly and cleanly as possible.”
“Yes, sir!”
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