The distant chirping did not stop at just once. Once, then once again… It overlapped several times in succession. There were at least two.
The Elder Council's leader paused.
"..."
The intense debate within the meeting hall, where they were discussing the dismissal of the Divine Sword Order's leader and potential replacements under legitimate authority, also came to a halt.
The long cries carried a singular meaning.
The swallows, mystical beasts raised through the secret arts of the Desolate Xiahou Clan, were symbols of high-ranking officials within the Divine Sword Order. None below the rank of black could dare possess them.
Xiahou Clan's leader's large ears pricked up like blades. He was a rare eccentric in Jianghu, a man who knew every mystical beast within Desolate Fortress.
Just as the attention of those gathered turned toward Xiahou Clan's leader, he slowly opened his half-lidded eyes and spoke.
"It is the Black Swallow of the Blood Preservation Squad's leader. And it's not alone. The Sky Swallow of the Dragon-Stepping Squad's leader, and the Thunder Swallow of the Divine Sword vice-leader are also coming. Two among the future Black Three Steel. The youngest of them, so it makes sense for them to handle communications, but why would the old woman Divine Spear be…?"
"She is a seasoned individual. Perhaps she feared the letter might be lost."
"That means the matter must be important. Since the summons for gathering was issued in Sichuan, there must also be news regarding the Radiant Demon Squad's leader. He was assigned the most significant mission in recent times, was he not?"
"With the black ranks gathered, the matter must have reached some conclusion."
"At last…"
Expressions of anticipation and anxiety flickered across the faces present.
Ma Jin raised his metallic, dark-blue hand. An artificial limb forged by the master craftsmen of the Sichuan City of Master Craftsmen.
The five fingers, said to be harder to control than any divine weapon without exceptional internal energy manipulation, spread wide. At that moment, a translucent energy surged from his palm into the air.
Kwaaaaaang—!
The ceiling's center shattered entirely. Large and small debris tumbled down.
Above the heads of the gathered leaders, who had each spread a protective energy field, three swallows descended with the blue sky behind them. Not startled in the slightest, they passed through the hole with the grace of true mystical creatures.
Chief Administrator Lin Jinming gestured toward the white-clad martial artist beside him.
"Notify the blacksmiths. Just mention it's roof work, and they'll understand."
Then, he reached out toward the air.
A sky-colored swallow landed on his forearm. It chirped sharply, and hanging from its leg was a message tube larger than its body—Divine Spear's Thunder Swallow.
The Chief Administrator immediately pulled out the scroll from the tube and unfurled it. What was revealed was a densely packed cluster of writing.
Near-illegible cursive script. As if the writer had transferred the flow of their thoughts directly onto the paper.
He shook his head.
"Clan Leader Shin, let's switch."
Shin Seol-ha, standing to the side, nodded. She had just received a letter from Xiahou Clan's leader—one sent by the Blood Preservation Squad's leader.
The document brought by the white swallow of the Dragon-Stepping Squad's leader was placed between Xiahou Clan's leader and Ma Clan's leader.
The Elder Council's leader folded his arms.
At some point, he had taken his seat, glaring fiercely at the younger subordinates.
The only man in the Chief Administrator's Hall ranked higher than the Chief Administrator remained silent, urging them forward with his piercing gaze.
"I will report immediately."
Chief Administrator Lin Jinming spoke as he opened the Blood Preservation Squad's leader's report.
The letter was filled with elegant script, written in a semi-cursive style that carried a smooth yet disciplined touch. At a glance, it seemed composed only of necessary information.
The Chief Administrator's eyes scanned the text.
"…Obeying Heaven Squad's leader, Ha Do-un, perished in the Golden Wings Sect's formation during a mission. The culprit… was the Ghost Roar Tyrant King, Peng Yuran."
His voice was unwavering. A renowned master of both literary and martial disciplines, known for his cold and decisive nature.
The others were different. The weight of silence pressed down upon the hall.
There was no one who did not know the former Peng Clan's leader. Even upon receiving the tragic news, they did not openly grieve or rage—crushed beneath the name of an unparalleled martial giant.
With the secluded immortals of the Nine Great Sects keeping their distance from Desolate Fortress, and with the disappearance of the Divine Sword Order's leader, there were only calamities upon the land.
Even the highest-ranking leaders of the main fortress found it suffocating. Someone murmured like a groan.
"Sichuan has become a den of devils."
"The Immortal Spirit Wood Squad's leader and Forest Striding Squad's leader are unharmed. Additionally…"
"What is it?"
The Chief Administrator did not answer immediately. He appeared to be reeling from unexpected fluctuations in emotions.
Xiahou Clan's leader, who had been deep in discussion with Ma Jin, widened his eyes.
"The Radiant Demon Squad's leader has slain Peng Yuran! He cut down the old monster of the Peng Clan alone!"
His massive hand pounded on Ma Jin's artificial limb with a clang. A heavy vibration spread through the room, stirring an uproar.
"That brat, yet again, an eighth-rank clan leader?"
"The Peng Clan's martial arts are the study of orthodoxy. A living, former leader of the Peng Clan would have held a slight advantage even over the Murong Clan's leader…"
As the elder who had just called the Radiant Demon Squad's leader a "brat" was sent tumbling backward by Ma Jin's forceful palm wind, Shin Clan's leader Shin Seol-ha, her brow furrowed, parted her lips.
She had been steadily reading through the coded letter from Desolate Divine Spear.
"Decisive action, resolving resentment on the spot."
It was a peculiar remark. She left it at that.
As if to ease the tension born from Obeying Heaven Squad's leader's death, someone jested toward her.
That she was being overtly generous to someone who had her daughter as a subordinate. It was a comment carrying the lingering echoes of shock from the Radiant Demon Squad's leader's achievement.
"..."
Shin Clan's leader did not respond. Her lips parted slightly, unable to conceal the tremble in her eyes.
"The dignity that will establish the fortress' prestige across the land."
Shin Seol-ha was the leader of the greatest clan in Desolate Fortress, one that had consistently produced warriors for generations. She had mastered the secret techniques of a noble lineage.
No matter how erratic Divine Spear's letter was, she could decipher it after just a moment of contemplation.
She had already finished reading it.
"An achievement none can dare challenge."
Just as she spoke,
Ssshhk.
During that time, the Chief Administrator set down the Blood Preservation Squad's leader's letter on the table.
It had taken only a short moment to engrave the entirety of its contents into his memory. His hands, honed through both martial arts and calligraphy, trembled ever so slightly.
"T-This…"
As the Chief Administrator stammered, a frown of curiosity formed on the Elder Council's leader's face as he looked down at the letter.
"Why do you stop mid-report? I can tell there are both calamities and triumphs. And how much the Shin Clan's leader treasures her daughter's superior."
"..."
"Well, to some extent, she is right. Lightning Genius will be the future of the fortress, after all. I heard that just the other day, he entered wearing white robes alongside the White Qilin."
Leaning against his chair, the Elder Council's leader fixed his stern gaze on him.
"The leaders must have done more before gathering here. Do not dally. Must I read it myself?"
The Chief Administrator's pupils refocused. Then, from his mouth, words fell like gentle yet deafening thunder.
"…He drove out the Ten Perfection Sect and Pure Demon Alliance alone, gained the cooperation of Emei and Qingcheng to host the Martial Duel Tournament, and defeated the Ten Perfection Sect's leader, Pure Demon Alliance's leader, and Golden Wings Sect's leader in succession. The Pure Demon Alliance's leader fled the scene, while the Blood Preservation Squad's leader confirmed the deaths of the Ten Perfection Sect's leader and the Golden Wings Sect's leader…"
It was a single breath.
A declaration powerful enough to make attendants faint. None here lacked exceptional sensory skills, so there was no chance of mishearing.
The moment the Chief Administrator finished speaking, time in the meeting hall froze, and the Elder Council's leader's gaze fell upon the document like a bolt of lightning.
"...!"
The inscription of Supreme Demon of Sacred Blood, Jin Myungjo.
Only the part discussing the deaths of the leaders of demonic sects had a different handwriting. The refined semi-cursive script had shifted to upright regular script.
The four characters, "Radiant Demon Squad's leader", placed before the names of the Ten Perfection Sect's leader and Golden Wings Sect's leader's demise, spoke an undeniable truth. A report composed with composure and decisiveness, from the Blood Preservation Squad's leader, said to be the foremost in Desolate Fortress.
"…The black ranks gathered there. Aside from the squad leaders who followed the Lord of Desolate Fortress to the World Tree, thirteen of them annihilated three of the Thirteen Celestial Demons and are now heading northeast."
The Chief Administrator spoke.
But the leadership of Desolate Fortress no longer opened their mouths.
The absent Divine Sword Order's leader's gaze seemed to devour the meeting hall.
The achievements of the young squad leader that would shake the world, the strength of the Divine Sword Order that had been buried in the long years since the founding, an overwhelming thrill coursed through the assembly.
Why the Ten Perfection Sect?
Why had they been called there?
Because it was an unstable land. Sichuan, where six major factions had run rampant. A midpoint for the squad leaders, who carried out missions across Ming territory and beyond.
Starting with the annihilation of the belligerent Ten Perfection Sect, the squad leaders revealed their might upon that chaotic land, making the world of Jianghu, which had begun to treat Desolate Fortress as little more than a supply depot, hesitate.
It did not take long for the commotion to begin.
Suddenly, Ma Clan's leader, Ma Jin, burst into wild laughter. Even as he had just received the obituary of Obeying Heaven Squad's leader, no one could stop him.
The aged, wrinkled hand of the Elder Council's leader, resting on the table, tensed, veins bulging. It was not jealousy or rage.
He was an elder who revered Desolate Fortress more than anyone. The unfathomable emotion welling up within him compressed the table beneath his grip.
Crack—
"We must go to Beijing. Clan Leaders, make preparations."
"What do you intend to do?"
The Chief Administrator asked. The Elder Council's leader did not even look at him as he replied.
"There is something we must prepare. Let us go and see the monstrous powers of the imperial family."
"…I will guard the main fortress."
The Chief Administrator responded.
* * *
Inner chamber of the Dark Night War's leader.
A place where bows of all shapes and sizes were mounted on racks.
Jung Yeonshin sat across from two sect leaders. A small tea table was between them. The faintly fragrant steam brushed past his face.
None of the three had touched their teacups. The conversation had just begun regarding the past of his maternal grandfather, which Jung Yeonshin had never known, and about the Pact of Mount Hua.
The two sect leaders seemed as if they had made an immense decision.
They had prefaced their words with a meaningful remark.
That after hearing this story today, whatever Jung Yeonshin would have to do from now on would become significantly easier.
"It was in my youth, Binni's youth. There was a time when seven disciples from the Nine Great Sects gathered in one place. They were already being called prodigies of the world back then."
Baek Yak spoke.
She herself and the previous leader of Qingcheng Sect.
The ancient sword of Wudang.
The master of the Starlight Sword Deity of Mount Hua.
The Sword Queen of Mount Dianqing.
The abbot of Shaolin.
The Beggar' Sect's leader.
"There was nothing to fear. We didn't even glance at the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering and simply roamed Jianghu, coming together and scattering apart repeatedly. Back then, we weren't humans—we were dragons. Yes, at least we thought of ourselves that way."
They were the successors meant to carry on the legacy of the Nine Great Sects. The revered young sages of Jianghu. Also known as the future sect leaders of the mountain sects.
The only ones in their sight were each other.
"Until we met a strikingly handsome young man from Desolate Fortress. It was after the death of the master of the Dragon Slayer Alliance's leader, who was recently killed by the Golden Wings Sect's leader during the unification process of the alliance."
The slaughter of the Thirteen Celestial Demons.
A time when their confidence in martial prowess surged beyond their wisdom.
A gathering of young masters at their peak. Naturally, the inevitable followed.
"The young man, who is now the Beggar' Sect's leader, spoke. He said that the martial arts of Desolate Fortress' Ma Clan were the ways of tyranny, so there was no need to share drinks. A provocation about whether our minds were not always clouded."
"That was foolish."
Jung Yeonshin replied without thinking, then tilted his head. Was he in any place to judge others?
"You called it foolish?"
"…When strangers meet for the first time, they usually establish goodwill through a drink, do they not? I fail to see the point in making enemies unnecessarily."
"Dou could certainly say that. Lao Tzu himself said that he who makes no enemies is invincible."
From the side, the Twin Walls Sword Lord lifted the corner of his mouth. He held Jung Yeonshin's character in high regard.
Likewise, Baek Yak grandmaster smiled as well. Silently sipping the sacred energy flowing from Jung Yeonshin's body instead of tea.
"In any case, the young man from Desolate Fortress responded with biting words. That he would likely lose in Drunken Fist, so it was utter nonsense."
Baek Yak grandmaster's gentle voice failed to fully capture the harsh words of the young Ma Yeonjeok.
That made Jung Yeonshin feel all the more ashamed. What would have become of the Ma Clan without himself and Ma Se-in?
'You must trust only me.'
He forced down his sense of shame.