"Right, you failed?"
"We were wiped out. We tried to recover the bodies, but they burned them all, so we couldn't find even the corpses. This is the only thing we managed to bring back."
The man hurriedly set something down in front of him. It was a corpse, half-burned and charred.
"When my subordinates arrived, this was all that remained."
The corpse floated up gently and disappeared into the tent. Then silence lingered for quite some time.
"So it was that bastard."
The man raised his head.
"What do you mean by that…?"
"Yes. The very one who slaughtered the thirty members of the Gyeongcheon Order. We said we couldn't catch his trail, and yet here he was."
Once more, the corpse flew out of the tent. The man hurriedly caught it and threw it outside. The subordinates who had been waiting outside received it and carried it off somewhere.
"Muyeong."
"Give your command!"
"Withdraw the Joseodang we deployed to Hyeongsan."
"By your order!"
"And then strike the Jo family estate."
At the Blood Demon's command, Muyeong's body froze for an instant. But he could not refuse.
"By your order."
"Hurry."
The moment the Blood Demon finished speaking, Muyeong's body turned into a shadow and seeped into the ground. Then stillness enveloped everything.
The Umun Clan . Though it was not counted among the Five Great Clans, it was by no means inferior to them.
The world often placed the Umun Clan and the Jo family estate side by side, but in reality the power the Umun Clan possessed was so great that it could not even be compared to that of the Jo family estate.
Among the many kinds of power the Umun Clan possessed, the most outstanding was its wealth . It was said that they controlled not only Seomseo, where the clan was located, but nearly one-third of the commercial rights of the entire world.
It was known that their martial strength was inferior to that of the Jo family estate, but in truth that was not entirely accurate. The Umun Clan possessed a considerable amount of power that was still unknown to the world.
Deep within the Umun Clan, inside a small secret chamber, two people were speaking with grave expressions.
One was an old man whose face was filled with benevolence, and the other was a middle-aged man with a cold, indifferent expression.
"So, did you find out?"
"Not yet for certain."
"Not certain, you say. That means you've at least grasped the rough outline. I know the abilities of the head steward better than anyone."
At the old man's words, the middle-aged man called the head steward nodded slightly and opened his mouth.
"What we obtained from the Tang Clan seems to be Thunderfire Bombs."
"Thunderfire Bombs!"
An exclamation of shock burst from the old man's mouth. That was how tremendous the destructive power implied by the words 'Thunderfire Bombs' was.
"How could they possibly obtain such an item from the Tang Clan?"
"It seems they produced them in cooperation with the Hwa family estate near Heochang. It's not yet certain."
"The Hwa family estate?"
The old man tilted his head.
The Hwa family estate was a clan the old man knew well. It had not been established for long, and it showed no particular promise for growth—just an ordinary clan.
No matter how much they cooperated with the Tang Clan, it was not a place capable of producing an unparalleled artifact like Thunderfire Bombs.
"They are descendants of the Thunderclap Sect ."
Only then did the old man nod slowly. If they were descendants of the Thunderclap Sect, then it was a different matter.
Hundreds of years had passed since the Thunderclap Sect disappeared from the martial world. At the same time, the method for producing Thunderfire Bombs had been lost. Only the Thunderfire Bombs the Thunderclap Sect had made until then remained, allowing people to remember their former might.
And now those Thunderfire Bombs had appeared again. Through the power of the Thunderclap Sect and the Sichuan Tang family.
"This is something we'll need to think about carefully."
At the old man's words, the man fell silent and waited. When the old man was thinking, one simply had to stay still. The old man always drew the most rational conclusion.
"How much are we talking about?"
At the old man's question, the man answered without hesitation.
"Enough to fill five large wagons."
"Hngh, an enormous amount. If we think about the records of Thunderfire Bomb usage in the past… it would be enough to erase several sects without leaving a trace."
After finishing his words, the old man's eyes gleamed.
"Head Steward Yang."
"Yes, please speak."
"The Thunderfire Bombs and their manufacturing method—we must take them."
"I will see to it."
At Head Steward Yang's unhesitating reply, the old man nodded in satisfaction. But he could not maintain that expression. It was because of what Head Steward Yang said next.
"And the young lady is already aware of this matter."
The old man looked sharply at Head Steward Yang, his expression changing abruptly.
"Stealing a few pieces of information from within the clan is far too simple a task for Shadow Serpent ."
"Hngh, to use the Serpent Spirit Faction in such a way…"
"It was you, Clan Head, who entrusted the Serpent Spirit Faction to the young lady."
"I know."
"Honestly, using the Serpent Spirit Faction merely as the young lady's guard is a bit of a waste."
The old man—no, Umun Hwang, the clan head of the Umun Clan—shook his head firmly at those words.
"It's not enough."
If Umun Hwang said so, then that was that. Head Steward Yang lowered his head and lightly agreed. Of course, whether Umun Hye truly had that much value was another matter.
"What is Hye-ah doing right now?"
"She is no longer within the clan."
Umun Hwang pressed a hand to his forehead. Umun Hye was the only person capable of giving him a headache.
Morning broke. And Ma Yuk departed.
With a body that felt a little lighter, Ma Yuk hurried toward Heochang. They had only been on the move for two days anyway, so if he pushed himself just a bit, he would soon reach the Henan Escort Agency.
There, he would decide how much additional support to provide to the escorts and take care of the matter.
Hyeong-pyo watched Ma Yuk's back as it disappeared into the distance, a faint sense of unease stirring within him.
He had experience to spare, but this was his first time commanding an escort mission, so he was understandably tense.
On top of that, the people escorting the goods this time were from the Tang family.
"Phew… well, we have to set out anyway, right?"
At Hyeong-pyo's signal to depart, the wagons began to move once more. Because of what they had gone through the day before, the wagon drivers wanted to finish this escort as quickly as possible.
As a result, their pace increased considerably. The Tang family warriors formed a wide protective perimeter around the goods. Normally, this would have been the escorts' role, but since no escorts remained, it naturally fell to the Tang warriors.
Tang Ho-gwan and Tang Cheol-gi moved separately at the very front.
"Given how things have turned out, is there really any need to insist on the Henan Escort Agency?"
Tang Cheol-gi's expression was skeptical.
No matter how he thought about it, there was no longer any reason to continue with the Henan Escort Agency. Besides, it was already the third day.
"Since all the escorts are dead anyway, the Henan Escort Agency wouldn't have anything to say about it."
"Then what are you suggesting we do?"
At Tang Ho-gwan's question, Tang Cheol-gi's face brightened slightly. Thinking his opinion was being accepted, he continued.
"After we pass Pyeongjeong Mountain, we contract with a new escort agency."
"Then what about the Henan Escort Agency? You're saying we just send them back?"
"Since they failed to complete the escort, there's no need to pay them, is there?"
At Tang Cheol-gi's words, Tang Ho-gwan smiled faintly.
"Do you truly think that way? Recall once more why we chose the Henan Escort Agency in the first place."
Tang Cheol-gi answered immediately.
"Because of their credibility."
"Exactly. You know that well enough. Then that settles it."
But Tang Cheol-gi had no intention of stopping there.
"But a problem like that could be handled by bringing in a smaller escort agency instead—"
At those words, Tang Ho-gwan frowned.
He knew exactly what Tang Cheol-gi was getting at. From the very beginning, when choosing the escort agency, Tang Cheol-gi had argued that point. What he wanted was to commission an unknown escort agency and then cleanly dispose of them afterward.
"Didn't I already tell you that wouldn't work? Do you think it wouldn't come to light? It would be far more dangerous."
Tang Cheol-gi closed his mouth. He did not believe his opinion was wrong, but Tang Ho-gwan was the one in charge of this group. He had no choice but to follow.
"Besides, no other escort agency could move these goods to Sichuan within a month."
After saying that, Tang Ho-gwan paused briefly. Then he continued in a low voice.
"And who knows what else might happen along the way. How could we possibly send them back?"
Tang Cheol-gi could not understand Tang Ho-gwan's words.
If they didn't know what might happen, wouldn't it be right to hire much stronger escorts? Of course, it wasn't as though they could find escorts stronger than Tang family warriors.
In any case, he didn't see how the Henan Escort Agency's wagon drivers could be of any help against dangers that might arise.
Seeing Tang Cheol-gi's face, Tang Ho-gwan spoke as if dumbfounded.
"Don't tell me you truly don't understand?"
"I can't understand what you mean, Uncle."
Tang Ho-gwan fell silent. After sinking into thought for a moment, he turned his head this way and that, looking at the Tang family warriors.
The Tang warriors stood around the goods, their gazes sharp in all directions, brimming with confidence. And among them, Tang Hyeong-u's figure could be seen.
Tang Ho-gwan looked at Tang Cheol-gi and asked,
"Who do you think dealt with yesterday's culprits?"
Tang Cheol-gi answered as if it were obvious.
"That would be you, Uncle. Truly worthy of the Tang family's secret art, Thousand Thunders."
Tang Ho-gwan could not help but be taken aback. Thousand Thunders? Who in the Tang family had mastered that?
Only then did Tang Ho-gwan understand why Tang Cheol-gi had made such a proposal. He was under the mistaken belief that Tang Ho-gwan had mastered Thousand Thunders.
"That said, if you've truly completed Thousand Thunders, Uncle, couldn't you have at least given this foolish nephew a hint? Hahaha."
Tang Ho-gwan once again looked at the Tang family warriors. Only then did he realize why they were all so full of confidence.
It was because of Thousand Thunders.
Among the Tang family's martial arts, if one were to name the most famous and powerful, it would unquestionably be Rain of a Thousand Blossoms.
Ask a hundred people, and a hundred would give that answer. But ask a Tang family member, and all a hundred would say Thousand Thunders.
If Rain of a Thousand Blossoms was the art of pouring out enough hidden weapons to cover the sky, then Thousand Thunders was the art of infusing each and every one of those hidden weapons with thunder qi. It was, quite literally, the Tang family's ultimate secret technique, unleashing a thousand bolts of lightning.
Of course, throughout Tang family history, no one had ever mastered it. Well—there had been one. Tang Ak, the very man who created Thousand Thunders.
Thanks to Thousand Thunders, Tang Ak was called the Thunder Emperor. After defeating all the famed masters of his era, he annihilated the Northern Sea Ice Palace, which sought to swallow the martial world whole.
That was hundreds of years ago.
Tang Ho-gwan recalled what had happened the previous day. The speed had been so incredible that even he might have missed it if it hadn't passed right before his eyes. It was no wonder Tang Cheol-gi and the others hadn't seen it. And it had seemed as though countless bolts of lightning had fallen at once.
'It's not strange that they'd mistake it for Thousand Thunders.'
According to legend, when Thousand Thunders was unleashed, hundreds of lightning bolts fell simultaneously.
Perhaps the sight of hidden weapons infused with thunder qi raining down had looked like that. But no one truly knew its exact form.
"Phew… Cheol-gi. Do you really think I've mastered Thousand Thunders?"
"Of course. If not you, Uncle, then who else could possibly have mastered it?"
In Tang Cheol-gi's eyes, as he answered, there was respect mixed with envy. And now and then, a glimmer of greed—wanting to uncover the secret of Thousand Thunders—flickered through.
"You're under a very big misunderstanding. If I had mastered it, do you think I would've just stood by watching ten of our family members die?"
At Tang Ho-gwan's words, Tang Cheol-gi's face filled with confusion.
"T-that can't be… then what in the world was that yesterday…?"
"It was a wagon driver."
Tang Cheol-gi's face turned pale with shock.
"T-that… what do you mean by that?"
"It was done by one of the Henan Escort Agency's wagon drivers. Now do you understand why we absolutely must travel with them?"
Tang Cheol-gi still couldn't understand. No—Tang Ho-gwan's words weren't even properly registering in his mind.
What could a wagon driver possibly have done? Surely you weren't saying a wagon driver had mastered Thousand Thunders?
Seeing Tang Cheol-gi's reaction, Tang Ho-gwan lightly shook his head and quickened his pace. Tang Cheol-gi remained confused, while the Tang family warriors' confidence still soared sky-high.
Lost in deep thought, Tang Ho-gwan walked on almost mechanically.
And as he pondered just what Tang Hyeong-u's true identity might be, they had already left Henan behind and entered Shaanxi .
Jo Il-hyeon, the head of the Jo family estate, was a master who had built his lineage around the spear.
There were many warriors in the martial world who used spears, and no shortage of those called masters, but Jo Il-hyeon was the only one who reigned as a regional overlord.
Jo Il-hyeon was known as the First Spear of Henan, the greatest master in Heochang. And since there was no one more skilled with the spear than him, he was also, naturally, the greatest spear master under heaven.
To maintain that reputation, Jo Il-hyeon never neglected his training. Though he was nearing fifty, he had never once broken his training schedule.
He rose at dawn and began each day with two shijin of training. After finishing all his affairs at night, he concluded the day with one shijin of final practice.
Today as well, after completing his daily duties, Jo Il-hyeon went to the training grounds.
He first sat cross-legged at the center of the grounds and quietly regulated his inner energy through breathing, controlling his qi.
Training with the spear was important, but cultivating internal energy was just as vital.
And as one's realm grew higher and higher, training that involved directly moving the body became less important than training like this—adjusting one's qi or gaining enlightenment through meditation.
While deeply immersed in regulating his energy, Jo Il-hyeon suddenly sensed an ominous presence. It was the sort of sensation he might not have noticed at all if he hadn't been in the midst of such focused breathing.
Jo Il-hyeon opened his eyes and once more concentrated, spreading his senses in all directions.
This time, however, he detected nothing unusual.
"Did I imagine it?"
Jo Il-hyeon shook his head. There was no way he had imagined it—it had been far too distinct. But it was also true that the presence had now vanished. A sense of foreboding crept over him, and he hurried toward his office.