After defeating the seventh team of the Seven Warriors Group.

No one dared to provoke Jin Cheonhee anymore.

Likely because rumors of his advancement to the Transformation Realm had spread uncontrollably.

Instead, on the way to the region where the secret cave was reportedly discovered, they encountered countless corpses.

“Brother, this person is still alive.”

“…Thank goodness.”

They were fortunate this time.

Finding one or two martial artists sprawled dead somewhere was common, and even mass deaths were frequent.

They don’t call it a blood storm for nothing.

This was entirely different from martial artists gathering at the Dragon Phoenix Gathering for competitions.

Jin Cheonhee either tended to the bodies or somehow rescued those still clinging to life, sending them to nearby medical facilities.

The now-massive Hwanggu was extremely convenient for transporting patients.

That was fortunate.

And so, at the end of their journey.

Finally.

They reached Mount Heng in Shanxi Province, where the secret cave was located and three forces were confronting each other.

The Five Sacred Mountains of the Central Plains.

These were the five largest and most beautiful mountains in the empire. Mount Heng was one of them.

The other four are Mount Hua, Mount Song, Mount Heng, and Mount Tai, right?

Major martial arts sects were established at each of these mountains.

The Huashan Sect at Mount Hua, Shaolin Temple at Mount Song, Hengshan Sect at Mount Heng, and Taishan Sect at Mount Tai.

Among these, the Huashan Sect and Shaolin Temple were counted among the Nine Great Sects, which showed how easily practitioners could establish themselves at famous mountains.

But Mount Heng doesn’t have a renowned sect.

And now, tens of thousands of people had gathered at this typically secluded famous mountain.

“Are all these martial artists? This is ridiculous…”

In this world without trains or airplanes, it was simply astonishing that so many had come seeking the Eight Great Divine Arts.

Cheon Woo answered calmly:

“They say the desire for martial arts manuals exceeds imagination.”

“Well… people naturally think they could turn their lives around if they somehow get their hands on a secret manual.”

“Don’t you think so, brother?”

“Of course not.”

Jin Cheonhee answered immediately.

“The stronger the martial art, the more difficult it is, and difficult martial arts are selective about who can learn them. Cheon Woo, ultimately these secret manuals will wander the martial world stained with blood of unknown origins until they reach someone’s hands. Those hands will belong to someone capable of mastering that martial art. Until then, they’ll just keep changing owners.”

“You’re unwavering, brother.”

“Yes. This is certain.”

This was a conclusion that could only be reached by someone who had opened the Imperial Archives and absorbed countless martial arts manuals.

It was actually quite simple.

“What guarantee do I have that I possess the five qualities needed to master that book?”

Without them, death awaits.

That’s the nature of chance in the martial world. All opportunities come with blood.

Jin Cheonhee clicked his tongue.

In the end, we can’t stop the blood storm.

With so many martial artists gathered to obtain a single item, a peaceful outcome was unlikely.

Though Mount Heng was large, with tens of thousands of people camped near the mountain, they could encounter martial artists with just a short walk.

There were people spread out everywhere in the forest and mountains, sitting on mats and cooking over campfires.

Others were engaged in sword fights, perhaps after disputes had broken out.

Most seem to be unaffiliated martial artists.

Wanderers of the martial world or those from the fringes of small and medium-sized sects.

The most desperate ones.

Jin Cheonhee headed straight for the Martial Righteous Alliance’s camp.

Cheon Woo found it curious that he walked directly there without using Noe-jin to guide them, so he asked, and Jin Cheonhee explained:

“While the White Dragon Medical Pavilion deals with both the Martial Righteous Alliance and the Unorthodox Alliance, since the Unorthodox Alliance attacked me, Master will be at the Martial Righteous Alliance camp. And the Martial Righteous Alliance would have set up camp as close as possible to the secret cave.”

“Why?”

“Because the Unorthodox Alliance and the Demonic Cult would do the same.”

But there was a difference between making such a deduction and walking directly there without confirming it.

Cheon Woo still found his brother fascinating.

As they proceeded, they could see three forces positioned in a standoff in front of a fairly large cave.

Finding the Martial Righteous Alliance wasn’t difficult, as their flags made them easily identifiable.

“It’s the White-Robed Divine Dragon!”

A Martial Righteous Alliance warrior who recognized Jin Cheonhee immediately guided him to the White Dragon Medical Pavilion’s area.

Entering the tent, he found both his master and Yoo Ho settled there.

“You’ve arrived, Hee.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Your reputation has made this master feel ten years older.”

“Hehehe…”

As expected.

Just like Master to immediately scold him.

Jin Cheonhee knew it came from a place of concern.

“Still, it’s joyous that my disciple has reached the Transformation Realm and mastered martial arts.”

His expression didn’t look happy at all.

Hmm, it seems you know all about the dangerous things I’ve been doing…

At times like this, changing the subject was best.

“Wait, Yoo Ho! Should you be here? Shouldn’t you be watching your second child at home?”

“…Tsk.”

Yoo Ho clicked her tongue instead of answering.

Master spoke to Yoo Ho:

“There’s good news, isn’t there? Why don’t you share it?”

At Zhuge Rin’s words, Yoo Ho reluctantly opened his mouth.

“The research was successful.”

“What?”

“You achieved what you wanted. We followed all your instructions before you left, and it finally succeeded. The soil from outside this world was crucial.”

In that moment, Jin Cheonhee’s breath caught.

So people really can stop breathing from too much joy.

Jin Cheonhee felt his mind going blank with that thought.

Then, feeling his scalp tingle, he shouted:

“Wooooohooooo!”

Then, as if he couldn’t breathe, he coughed repeatedly.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m just so happy! Too happy! But I can’t breathe… cough!”

“Good grief. You’re ridiculous.”

Yoo Ho angrily patted Jin Cheonhee’s back.

Just then, Master spoke:

“Shouldn’t warrior Cheon Woo go to the Wudang Sect and pay his respects?”

A clear dismissal.

But since it was reasonable, Cheon Woo nodded obediently.

“I’ll be back shortly. Brother, see you later.”

“Alright. Go ahead.”

Cheon Woo showed his respect and headed straight for the Wudang Sect’s tent.

That left only Jin Cheonhee, Master, and Yoo Ho in the tent.

Master asked Yoo Ho to prepare tea.

This too was clearly a dismissal.

As soon as Yoo Ho left the tent, Master spoke:

“Reaching the Transformation Realm is impressive.”

Master spoke solemnly, deliberately hiding his joy.

“I gained enlightenment while studying martial arts manuals in the Imperial Archives.”

But should he tell Master about the Dragon?

If he conveyed the Dragon’s message about dying and awakening, he would necessarily have to reveal being a transmigrator.

Also, him being a “Descendant of Fu Xi.”

Even if Master learned everything, would he leave the current Jin Cheonhee alone?

Might confinement, under the name of concern for his disciple’s well-being, await him?

Either way, he couldn’t know.

After considering, Jin Cheonhee first mentioned only that he had obtained the jade from a hidden location in the Imperial Archives.

“Hmm…”

Master’s eyes narrowed.

He probably noticed the gaps in his disciple’s story.

But he deliberately didn’t press the matter.

If Cheon Woo had seen this, he would have called it a truly strange master-disciple relationship.

That wouldn’t be wrong.

Master and disciple continued their conversation.

“As you saw on your way here, three forces are currently in a tense standoff. The Martial Righteous Alliance officially hopes there will be no casualties. The unorthodox faction is weighing costs and benefits, looking for gain.”

Jin Cheonhee nodded.

“The Demonic Cult would prefer to use force, but if they make a move, the unorthodox faction and righteous faction might form an alliance, which would be burdensome for them.”

“Exactly.”

The situation was interlocked like rock-paper-scissors. They were keeping each other in check but couldn’t make overt moves.

“What about our White Dragon Medical Pavilion?”

At those words, Master smiled wryly.

“We’re just providing treatment and making money. We’re not affiliated with the Martial Righteous Alliance anyway. The Hwaju Medical Pavilion is the one affiliated with them.”

But treating external wounds was the White Dragon Medical Pavilion’s specialty.

Even the Martial Righteous Alliance would have complex calculations to make.

“Well, I’m glad I made it here safely, Master.”

“Not just safely. You also extorted a huge sum.”

“Hehehehe.”

Master sighed and stroked his disciple’s head with his large hand.

Had his disciple sustained any injuries, he certainly wouldn’t have remained calm.

In the end, his disciple had fleeced the Unorthodox Alliance with a reasonable justification, allowing Master to calmly make his next move.

“Strictly speaking, since we’re in the form of an external contractor, we’ve been able to receive substantial funding from both sides. That’s the advantage of neutrality. Though it’s precarious as well.”

“You’re not the type to leave it at that, Master.”

“True. We’ve made it clear that we have no interest in the secret cave. Moreover, I’ve brought a thousand martial artists from the Medical Pavilion, so we can’t be ignored.”

“Wow…”

Though he had anticipated that his Master would mobilize many martial artists to reduce risk variables, he never imagined he would bring a thousand of them.

“The Martial Righteous Alliance’s total force, by numbers alone, is at least five thousand. The unorthodox faction has seven thousand. The Demonic Cult has three thousand.”

Master’s blue gaze was matched by his disciple’s eyes of the same color.

“In terms of elite forces, the order would be Demonic Cult, Martial Righteous Alliance, then the unorthodox faction. If we joined the Martial Righteous Alliance, the balance would shift somewhat, but we don’t have enough loyalty to do that.”

“You’ve correctly gauged your master’s thoughts.”

“Hehehe.”

Zhuge Rin was proud of his disciple and continued stroking his head.

“This force benefits most by not joining any side. If we were to join somewhere, the losses would outweigh the gains from then on.”

Jin Cheonhee nodded, then closed his eyes momentarily, deep in thought.

This was a habit he’d had since he was a very young child.

The habit hadn’t changed even as he grew up.

Zhuge Rin remembered everything about how this child had grown, from head to toe.

The habits that had gradually disappeared as he grew.

The habits that still remained.

There was nothing about his disciple that the master didn’t love.

“There will be roughly three outcomes. Shall I identify the three variables?”

“First is all-out war. One of the three will fight until they’re the last one standing. Second is that after negotiations, a small number of powerful forces capable of obtaining the secret manual from the cave will make copies and share them among themselves. This has the lowest probability. The last one has the highest probability.”

Jin Cheonhee opened his eyes.

With eyes tinged with blue light, the young man said:

“Negotiating and then backstabbing. This would be the most reasonable approach for both the righteous and unorthodox factions.”

“That’s right. Anyone familiar with precedent would know this.”

Zhuge Rin said this, but it was something only a few people who had meticulously recorded and compared blood feuds in the martial world, seeking the most similar cases, could do.

The world called such people “strategists.”

“We won’t be entering the secret cave, then.”

“Correct. We’ll just observe and make money. Besides, there’s no guarantee that what’s inside is authentic.”

That was Master’s opinion.

It made sense. It would be dangerous to enter the secret cave based solely on witness accounts and legends.

Even if there were man-made caves hidden there, there was no guarantee that previous visitors hadn’t already come and gone.

It could even be a trap set by the Blood Immortal Sect.

But Jin Cheonhee knew something that transcended a strategist’s reasoning.

The future. Simply a few lines of text about the future.

“It’s authentic. That thing.”