Chapter 215
After killing the four Divine Demons, Baek Mu-Gun caught his breath.
Now that he had unlocked his upper dantian and connected his three dantians into one, his internal energy was like spring water that would never dry up, but it still was not infinite. The technique he used a moment ago to kill the Divine Demons consumed as much internal energy as the power it contained. Even a spring water pool that would never dry up would momentarily show its bottom if all of its water was used at once, and it would also take some time to fill it back up.
Having reached the bottom of his internal energy reserve, Mu-Gun now required a bit of time to replenish it. During that period, even moving was difficult.
Mu-Gun caught his breath and examined the situation. The Central Plains Murim Alliances martial arts masters and the Nine Celestial Demons Sects Higher Demons were still locked in a fierce battle, paying no heed to the confrontation between Mu-Gun and the Divine Demons.
The Central Plains Murim Alliance currently had the upper hand. Although the Higher Demons had gained Absolute-Realm power through Soul-Burning Invincibility Pills, they still paled in comparison to the martial artists who had reached it.
Even so, the Higher Demons numerical advantage would have already turned the tide to their favor if not for the alliances Upper-Peak-Realm martial artists fighting them in groups of two or three. They were not strong enough to gain the upper hand, but they had at least leveled the playing field.
While the Upper-Peak-Realm masters kept the rest of the Higher Demons at bay, the Absolute-Realm masters defeated them one by one.
As the Celestial Demons Sect suffered more casualties, the Central Plains Murim Alliances dominance over the battle grew. The Higher Demons fought hard to the very end, but their efforts were in vain.
If things proceeded as planned, the Divine Demons would have already killed Mu-Gun and supported them. Without them, the Higher Demons had no chance of turning the battle around.
Mu-Gun did not feel the need to intervene, determining that the Higher Demons would all eventually fall anyway, leaving only the ten thousand panicking demonic practitioners. Higher Demons and even the Divine Demons were defeated.
Not only were their Demonic Monarchs, Higher Demons, and even Divine Demons wiped out, but Mu-Gun and the Central Plains Murim Alliances martial arts masters were still alive and well. There was nothing they could do at this point. The battle was as good as over.
However, the Central Plains Murim Alliance had no intention of ending the battle here. Like pests, if they let the ten thousand demonic practitioners live, they would become a threat again someday. For the sake of the Central Plains, for the sake of the world, they had to be exterminated.
Annihilate the demonic practitioners! The Central Plains Murim Alliances leadership ordered.
The demonic practitioners could not even run away or retaliate.
Graaaghh!
The Central Plains Murim Alliances martial artists let out warcries as they charged at the demonic practitioners. For as long as Mu-Gun and the Absolute-Realm masters were with them, they believed they would emerge victorious. Their conviction raised their morale as they relentlessly attacked their remaining foes.
The demonic practitioners did not back down. With their resolve still intact despite the obviously and massively disadvantageous situation they were in, they fought back until the very end.
Their determination was worthy of praise, but that alone was not enough to turn the gears of the world. Like many things, martial arts could not be overcome with will alone.
Eventually, the Nine Celestial Demons Sects forces were wiped out.
Mu-Gun just watched even though he had recovered his strength. The battle could have ended much faster if he joined the fight. It could have also reduced their casualties. However, protecting Central Plains murim was not a task only he should attend to but something all of its martial artists had to do together.
Wanting to give Central Plains murims martial artists the chance to feel proud that they protected murim with their own strength, Mu-Gun left the final fight entirely up to them. The battle continued for some time, but they eventually killed all ten thousand demonic practitioners of the Nine Celestial Demons Sect.
Raaaghhhhh!
Drenched in blood and sweat, the Central Plains Murim Alliance shouted cries of victory, signaling the end of the battleand the end of the Nine Celestial Demons Sects threat.
* * *
After the battle, the Central Plains Murim Alliance immediately dealt with the aftermath of the war.
Just handling the corpses their final battle left behind was already a tremendous task since the corpses did not just belong to the Nine Celestial Demons Sects demonic practitioners. Two thousand of the Central Plains Murim Alliances martial artists were also killed in battle. In total, they had to dispose of twelve thousand bodies.
The whole ordeal took ten days to finish.
Meanwhile, Mu-Gun and the alliance leaders had a meeting to discuss stabilization plans for the Central Plains. The Central Plains Murim Alliance sustained not only heavy casualties but also considerable material and property damages during the war.
In particular, the Guangdong Jin, Great Ximen, and Sichuan Tang Families even had to let their headquarters be burned down. Many of the Nine Prominent Sects subsidiary branches also lost their homes.
It would take quite a bit of time and money to recover their losses. For the sake of restoration, the sects and families that sustained relatively less damage decided to provide financial support. Moreover, the forces affiliated with the Central Plains Murim Alliance established an agreement that prohibited the expansion of power over the next decade and banned any related armed conflicts. According to its punishment clause, it would be acceptable to annihilate the forces of anyone who violated it.
The Nine Prominent Sects and the Seven Great Families were worried that the Loyal Heart Alliance would refuse since they had more Absolute-Realm masters than the others and had also suffered close to no damage in the war. Above all, they had Mu-Gun, a Mythic-Realm master.
If the Loyal Heart Alliance wanted to gain supremacy over murim, the Nine Prominent Sects and Seven Great Families would have no way to stop them, especially since Mu-Guns overwhelming martial prowess and contributions in the war left a deep impression in the hearts of the Central Plains martial artists.
Busy praising Mu-Gun, they started calling him the Golden Thunder Emperor God. Many even regarded him as the Murim Overlord. If he took advantage of public opinion, he could truly become the Murim Overlord whenever he wanted.
However, Mu-Gun readily accepted the agreement. The Loyal Heart Alliances leader, Baek Cheon-Sang, naturally had the final say, but at the very least, they felt reassured that he did not desire supremacy over murim.
If Mu-Gun put his mind to it, he could easily reign over murim, but he refused to. After all, he still had the Demon Gods incarnation to worry about. The Thunder God told him that they had appeared in the Central Plains before. There was no guarantee that they would not return, and if they did, the martial artists of the Central Plains would not be able to stop them. Murim had Mu-Gun, but even he could not do everything by himself.
To prepare for the off chance that the Demon Gods incarnation reappeared, the Central Plains forces had to be strengthened. Instead of ruling over murim, Mu-Gun intended to focus on nurturing the power to protect it. He also wanted the Nine Prominent Sects and the Seven Great Families to pay attention to their internal stability and focus on growing their forces as much as possible.
The Nine Prominent Sects and the Seven Great Families were comrades who would fight together with him if the Demon Gods incarnation invaded the Central Plains. The stronger their forces, the better it was for him.
Soon, the alliance finished taking care of the wars aftermath. No longer having any reason to stay in Sichuan Province, they returned to their respective homes.
Likewise, Mu-Gun and the Loyal Heart Alliances martial arts masters headed for Shaoxing. Their journey would last a month if they sailed through the Changjiang River and two months if they traveled on land. They decided to sail to Nanjing and then travel to Shaoxing on foot.
Mu-Gun and the Loyal Heart Alliances martial arts masters boarded a ship, which set out to the river not long after.
Mu-Gun missed his family, especially his two beloved wives, Dan Seol-Young and Namgung Hyun-Ah. It had been months since he last saw them. Hence, the month-long journey felt even more frustrating for him. After much consideration, he decided to move ahead of the Loyal Heart Alliances martial arts masters.
Having reached the Mythic Realm, he could now freely absorb the worlds thunder qi, giving him access to so much internal energy that he would never be able to exhaust it all anymore. That also meant he could keep the Thunder Gods Shadow active forever. Considering the technique made him a lot faster now that he was in the Mythic Realm, he could reach Shaoxing in three days.
After telling the Loyal Heart Alliances martial arts masters of his decision to go ahead first, he headed straight for Shaoxing. Three days later, he arrived at the Baek Sword Sects manor.
* * *
A man in his thirties sat on a throne located in the highest area of a huge clan hall. The hall had marbled floors and walls and pillars made of gold, a testament to the height of glamour.
Opposite him, way below his throne, a man in his forties stood politely.
The Nine Celestial Demons Sect was completely wiped out? The man on the throne asked in surprise.
Yes. the man in his forties respectfully answered.
That is unexpected. Their forces were not so weak that they could be so easily annihilated.
It is said that the Thunder Gods successor played a huge role.
Is that so? Still, even he would have had difficulties defeating the Divine Demons and the Demonic Monarchs, considering they had Soul-Burning Invincibility Pills at their disposal. Did the Shaolin Temple and Wudang Sects previous generation of martial arts masters join their cause?
No. According to reports, the Thunder Gods successor single-handedly killed the six Divine Demons and the Demonic Monarchs. What makes his feat even more surprising is that he did not borrow the power of the Thunder God.
What? The man on the throne looked baffled.
This is purely conjecture, but such a feat is likely impossible without reaching the Mythic Realm. He has most probably become the Thunder Gods incarnation, the middle-aged man carefully said.
The Thunder Gods incarnation, huh That would certainly make sense of everything. The man on the throne nodded.
Would it not be better to deal with him before opening the Demon God Cave?
That would be too boring. We should enjoy the despair that the bastard will feel when the Demon God Cave opens and the Hell Realms Demon Gods cross over to this world, the man on the throne said with a sinister expression.
Haha. I almost missed out on a good spectacle.
How are the preparations going?
It is progressing smoothly. It can be opened within a year at the earliest.
Can we not hasten it?
It will take some time. After all, we have to open thirty-six places all at once, not just one, the middle-aged man carefully replied.
Fine. Whats another year? I have been waiting for a thousand years already anyway. I will no longer rush you, but make sure we suffer no setbacks.
Understood.
Be careful not to be caught by the Central Plains Murim Alliance, especially the Thunder Gods incarnation.
Noted.
Now, be on your way.
The middle-aged man bowed politely and left the clan hall.
Murim had not learned of their identity yet, much less the fact that they had information about the Thunder Gods incarnation and that they were preparing something that would allow the Hell Realms Demon Gods to cross over to this world.
Although Central Plains had just eliminated the Nine Celestial Demons Sect, another threat was already beginning to sprout in the dark.[1]
1. Author-nim has no time for bullshit, one badass enemy dies and now theyre going to be put up against Demon Gods?
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