Between the Namchang branch of the Martial Alliance and the southern Okhwa Mountain lay three smaller branches: Sango, Jangsu, and Imcheon. Though not as large as Namchang, these branches were crucial in guarding the main routes against the advancing forces of the Nanyang Alliance and other rogue factions.

At that moment, the Jangsu branch was engulfed in flames.

“Take this!”

With a fierce shout, the head of the Jangsu branch lunged forward, his twin palms crushing the chest of a rogue warrior. He gasped for breath, but before he could fully recover, two more rogues charged at him.

“That’s the branch leader! He’s mine!”

“How much was the bounty on his head again?”

Their eyes gleaming with greed, the rogues swung their weapons, but the branch leader’s swift and powerful strikes were faster, cutting through the air like a breeze.

Crack!

With precise blows to the head and chest, the branch leader dispatched the rogues and quickly surveyed his surroundings.

“Damn it.”

Despite the superior martial skills of the Namchang branch members, they were vastly outnumbered. The gap between them and the encroaching rogues was closing rapidly.

One of the alliance members, clutching a wound on his shoulder, approached the branch leader.

“Sir, we can’t hold out much longer.”

“The rogues have us surrounded. Even if we concentrate our remaining forces, breaking through seems impossible.”

The branch leader, having assessed the situation with his senses, sighed as he glanced at a middle-aged rogue directing the attack from the rear.

The man was known as Georyeokdo, a formidable figure even the branch leader found challenging to face. With him leading the rogues, survival seemed bleak.

“I’m sorry. We should have fled with the civilians when we had the chance. I misjudged the situation.”

As the branch leader spoke, the alliance member, hastily bandaging his wound, replied firmly.

“If we had done that, the civilians would have been in even greater danger. We would have faced a tougher battle.”

Another member, pushing back a rogue, added, “We worked hard to establish this branch in Jangsu. We owe it to our fallen comrades to defend it.”

“You’re right.”

The branch leader, about to raise his bloodstained hands again, suddenly froze, his gaze fixed on something in the distance. The other members followed his line of sight.

“Sir, what’s wrong?”

“The rogues’ presence is…”

Boom!

Before he could finish, a section of the branch’s wall exploded. Amidst the flying debris, a massive plum blossom sword emerged, followed by a group of swordsmen who charged at the rogues in a fan formation.

“What the—!”

“Is it reinforcements from the Martial Alliance?”

The rogues, momentarily distracted from their attack, turned to see the scene unfold. Blood sprayed in all directions, accompanied by drifting purple petals.

“What is this!”

The rogues’ eyes widened in shock at the sight of fewer than twenty swordsmen. Though their numbers seemed insignificant, the swordsmen’s presence was overwhelming.

With each swing of their swords, multiple strikes rained down, and anyone distracted by the fluttering petals found themselves covered in wounds in an instant.

As the plum blossom-clad swordsmen moved, several rogues fell, spewing blood.

“Ugh!”

“Who are these people!”

The rogues fell like straw dummies, unable to withstand the swordsmen’s onslaught. Recognizing the distinctive white robes adorned with plum blossoms, an alliance member shouted.

“Plum Blossom Swordsmen! The Huashan Sect has come to our aid!”

Cutting down three rogues at once, Hyunbaek, who led the charge, nodded to the alliance members watching with hopeful eyes.

“I am Hyunbaek of Huashan. We came upon hearing the news and brought the Plum Blossom Swordsmen to assist.”

Even amidst the chaos, Hyunbaek’s calm demeanor was unshakable, and the rogues dared not approach him. The tide of battle had turned, and the aura of the Zihua Heart Technique emanating from Hyunbaek made him seem larger than life.

“I am the branch leader of Jangsu. Thank you for the Plum Blossom Swordsmen’s assistance. Did you happen to see any civilians fleeing on your way here? Some rogues might have pursued them.”

Hyunbaek smiled reassuringly at the branch leader’s concern.

“Rest assured. The rest of the Plum Blossom Swordsmen are handling the rogues attempting to raid the civilians. They’ll join us shortly.”

“Ah! As expected of Huashan.”

Realizing the number of Plum Blossom Swordsmen didn’t match, the branch leader felt a weight lift from his shoulders, allowing him to fully unleash his inner strength.

“Everyone! Support the Plum Blossom Swordsmen!”

“Yes, sir!”

Boom!

The alliance members, ready to charge at the rogues, paused at the sound of another explosion from the front.

Turning to the source, they saw Georyeokdo, his massive sword broken in half, slumped against the wall. The sight widened the eyes of both the alliance members and the branch leader.

“Who could have done this!”

The branch leader’s gaze fell on a towering swordsman wielding a massive plum blossom sword, realizing it was none other than Mucheol of the Huashan Sect.

“To think the second disciple, not the first, defeated Georyeokdo. Huashan’s prowess is truly remarkable.”

Georyeokdo was a seasoned rogue, ranked among the top twenty in the Nanyang Alliance. That he was defeated without a scratch on Mucheol left the branch leader in awe.

The other alliance members seemed equally stunned, their faces blank with disbelief.

“We’ll go ahead.”

As Hyunbaek unfurled his signal flag and swiftly moved forward, the branch leader and alliance members followed suit.

At the same time Mucheol defeated Georyeokdo, Mujin and Muhwa had subdued the rogues attempting to attack the civilians.

Many rogues lay dead, while others groaned in pain from their injuries.

“Senior Brother Mujin, I’ve restrained the living ones. What should we do with them?”

Muhwa, inspecting the wounded civilians, glared at the rogues with fiery eyes.

“Let’s just kill them all. If we let them go, they’ll just continue to harm civilians.”

Muhwa’s hand twitched, ready to strike with her plum blossom sword.

“Whoa, calm down, junior.”

“Yeah, Muhwa. These guys are scum, but still.”

Musang and Muho, who were tying up the rogues, chimed in, but Muhwa’s gaze remained fierce. Mujin gave a wry smile.

Since her first foray into the martial world, Muhwa had been particularly incensed by the injustices and atrocities committed by martial artists, especially those who oppressed the weak like civilians.

Though sometimes excessive, Mujin, who believed it was a natural mindset for a righteous martial artist, gently placated her.

“Muhwa, I understand your feelings. But we are a righteous sect, and as such, we must act accordingly. We had no choice but to kill during the battle, but now that we’ve subdued them, it’s right to send them to the branch to face justice.”

Mujin’s calm words made Muhwa scratch her head, her lips pouting in reluctant agreement.

“Fine. If we kill them all, we’re no better than the rogues.”

Musang and Muho sighed in relief. If Muhwa was fire, Mujin was the water that could quell her fierce heat.

“Good thing Senior Brother Hyunbaek left Mujin here.”

“Yeah, otherwise, who could stop Muhwa’s rampage?”

Looking up at the sky, Mujin addressed his fellow disciples.

“We’ve sent the signal, so the assassins from the Cheonsal Sect should arrive soon. Once they do, we’ll hand over the rogues and regroup with our seniors.”

“Do you think the others are okay?”

Mujin nodded at Muryun’s concern.

“The Sojeongdae’s later disciples will handle things well. And there’s no need to worry about the senior brother.”

According to the Cheonsal Sect’s intelligence, the Hangryong Pagoda had fallen into the hands of the Nanyang Alliance, and the three branches—Sango, Jangsu, and Imcheon—were under simultaneous attack.

In response, the Sojeongdae, Plum Blossom Swordsmen, and Muhwi had been dispatched to support each branch.

Judging by the rogue factions’ movements, it seemed the Nanyang Alliance intended to use the gathered rogue martial artists to completely drive out the Martial Alliance forces in northern Jiangxi.

The Nanyang Alliance likely saw this as the perfect opportunity to seize Jiangxi Province while the Martial Alliance was preoccupied elsewhere.

“If we fail to stop the Nanyang Alliance and lose Namchang and the Poyang Lake area, the path to Hubei and Anhui will be wide open. We must hold the line.”

“We’ll handle the rogues.”

A voice suddenly spoke from the shadows of the trees, but Mujin, unfazed, nodded in acknowledgment.

“Thank you.”

“There’s been an update. Sojeongdae and the Sword Saint have dealt with the wandering warriors and are on their way to the rendezvous point.”

The plan to support the three branches and then regroup near Okhwa Mountain was proceeding smoothly.

With the new intel, Mujin led his disciples forward.

“Let’s hurry and join them at Okhwa Mountain.”

* * *

Blood dripped steadily from the blade of Shimyeong’s sword, yet the dark steel remained untainted, shimmering with a mysterious purple hue.

Behind Muhwi lay a heap of fallen warriors. He pushed his hair back, smirking at the few remaining enemies who were slowly retreating.

“Of course. All you could come up with were ambushes and traps.”

Muhwi had saved the Imcheon branch from falling into the hands of the rogues. Instead of heading straight to Okhwa Mountain, he had taken a detour to intercept and dismantle the rogue forces stationed along the route from Sango and Jangsu.

It seemed the Rogue King was aware of their movements, hoping to use sheer numbers to harass Sojeongdae and the Plum Blossom Swordsmen.

But against a one-man army, a master of transcendent skill, such tactics were futile. Muhwi anticipated the Rogue King’s moves, systematically dismantling the scattered rogue groups.

Squelch!

Muhwi’s robe was splattered with blood as he stepped into a puddle.

He cast a sharp gaze at the rogues and martial artists, paralyzed by fear, unable even to attempt escape.

“I heard. The Rogue King promised to teach you the secret techniques of the Dragon’s Eighteen Palms and the Drunken Eight Steps if you drove out all the Murim Alliance branches in Jiangxi.”

The chilling menace in Muhwi’s voice sent shivers down the spines of the martial artists. It was hard to believe such a murderous aura could come from a man of the martial world.

“Fools. Even if you learned those techniques, did you think you could become the Wind King?”

Muhwi’s sword, which had been pointing to the ground, slowly rose.

The Wind King.

A man who, despite being the leader of the Beggars’ Sect, rarely stayed in Kaifeng, where the main sect was located. Instead, he roamed the vast martial world like the wind, quelling chaos wherever he went.

He was a man who used the sect’s intelligence and his own martial prowess to tirelessly work for the peace of the martial world.

Muhwi had only met the Wind King briefly during a grand assembly at Mount Hua, but he knew well that the Wind King was a martial artist worthy of respect, regardless of faction.

The Rogue King’s plan to desecrate the Wind King’s legacy and scatter his secret techniques across the martial world only drew Muhwi’s scorn.

“Even against enemies, there are lines that shouldn’t be crossed.”

A storm began to swirl around the sword, which was now held at an angle. The technique had been honed by cutting down countless rogues in Jiangxi.

‘Wind King, I will repay the favor of taking the blow from the Tyrant at Mount Hua by retrieving the Dragon’s Eighteen Palms.’

The sword traced a deep purple arc in the air. The slow yet ever-changing flow converged into a seamless stream, with the sword’s power cascading like a flood.

The continuous, unending sword strikes resembled a purple dragon swimming through the sky.

“Ahh!”

“Damn it.”

The martial artists could only gasp in awe at the massive sword strike unfolding in the air. They trembled, sensing their impending doom.

Whoosh!

As the sword slashed downward, the purple dragon bared its fierce fangs.

The strike, reminiscent of the Wind King’s Flying Dragon in the Sky from the Dragon’s Eighteen Palms, descended like a vertical lightning bolt.

Simultaneously, the tightly woven sword strikes exploded outward, sweeping away the rogues.

Boom!

A thunderous roar, like the cry of a dragon, echoed as the ground before Muhwi erupted, sending earth and stone flying.

A technique that swept away everything in its path.

Based on the profound understanding of the Six Harmonies, it harnessed the relentless power of the Dragon’s Eighteen Palms to devastating effect.

The most efficient and powerful technique when facing numerous foes alone.

Breaking the Army, Seeking Martial Arts.

In the aftermath of the technique, only Muhwi remained, standing with piercing eyes.

His plum blossom robe fluttered nobly as he moved forward to reclaim the Wind King’s martial arts from the Rogue King.

After some time, the Plum Blossom Swordsman, who had secured the Jangsu branch, joined him on the right, while Sojeongdae, who had saved the Sango branch, took position on the left.

Reunited as planned, Muhwi and his group headed straight for Okhwa Mountain, where the Rogue King had set up his camp.