Emberlib
Stories
53
Chapters
9,373
Words
20.2 M
Comments
6,107
Reading
69 d, 23 h
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WHOOOO... Far away, along the thin thread of the horizon, a stark contrast divided the world. Unlike the west, where the sun still flung its final embers in a desperate, dying blaze of crimson, the east lay smothered. Deep night had already claimed the pitch-black plains. WHOOOO... Not yet. No thundering hooves yet shook the earth to crush a man's heart, nor did any tremors ripple through the ground to send a chill straight to the marrow. Even so, a martial master of the caliber of Wang Cheol-jin, the…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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—One “Who commands the mightiest cavalry in the Eastern World?” That query, once casually tossed aloud by Grand Young Master Yeon So-hyeon, had long transcended the realm of academic military discourse. It had matured instead into a source of endless, animated debate among tavern-dwellers and marketplace gossips alike. And now, the hour of reckoning had arrived. This was where the Ironclad Cavalry would carve its name into history. General Eulji Batar, the formidable commander of the vanguard…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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“(Hoh...!)” The Grand Nobleman, Commander-in-Chief of the Haedong Kingdom’s legendary Ironclad Cavalry, ventured a low hum of admiration from beneath her iron helm. Then, in a fraction of a heartbeat— SHHHK! The interlocking plates shielding her shoulder ruptured. Crimson sprayed through the newly torn gap. “(Grand Nobleman...!)” her adjutant shrieked, his voice laced with sudden panic. “(I am fine.)” The Grand Nobleman staved off his worry with a raised hand, signaling that the wound was a…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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In the ears of Grand Strategist Sima... "Is it true?! Has the Dread King’s army truly begun to retreat?!" The voices of the senior strategists reached him from afar, sounding faint and distant. "Report accurately!" They bellowed at the messengers and officers in charge as if spewing fire. "Did they all begin retreating under some command?! Or did the troops start fleeing on their own?!" "Was it the Dread King’s order?! Or another general’s?! Is the Dread King safe?!" Questions cascaded over him. With…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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"War Department Chief...!" A desperate cry pierced the cacophony of slaughter, seeking the commander of the Luoyang Sword Clan's War Department. CLANG! THUD! The War Department Chief parried a Great Warrior's blade, executed a lethal riposte, and pivoted in a singular, fluid motion, driving a barbed spear into the chest of an advancing foe. "Hup...!" "There you are!" Mad Wave Sword Sak-ho, a commander who had been scouring the fray for him, collided with his back, anchoring them together. "The enemy has…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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"Now you have lost even your final chance," rumbled a voice like boiling molten iron. Before Yelü Nuzhucha, the fallen Dread King, could even process the ominous words, the elite assassins of the Dark-Assembled Squad lunged forward in a desperate, frantic bid to shield their master. "(Protect His Highness!)" they screamed, swarming through the narrow, rattling confines of the carriage. The Venerable One of Dark Heavens watched their advance with cool detachment. "(Futile loyalty,)" he murmured. With a…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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The harsh, rhythmic cawing of crows dragged his faint consciousness back to the surface, making the grueling labor of raising his old body from the sea of the dead a miserable affair. Haa, haa.... The corpses of allies and confederates lay tangled in a grotesque embrace, but one chilling truth emerged from the gore: among the slaughter piled all around him, not a single corpse belonged to the Grand Young Master's vanguard. ...Hah. It was a rout. Not a common, predictable setback, but a decisive, shattering…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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With those final, definitive words, Grand Nobleman drew her massive blade, the raw steel catching the cold moonlight. The surrounding Ironclad Cavalry, who had falsely believed the war concluded with the Dread King's absolute defeat, fell into an instant of profound confusion that lasted only a breath. (Pull the formation back...!) They moved with practiced lethal grace, widening the perimeter to isolate Grand Young Master Yeon So-hyeon. The geopolitical reality between them was stark and entirely…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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The Haedong Kingdom Embassy within the Imperial Capital. Thud. Thud. Thud. The heavy, rhythmic thunder of iron-shod boots shattered the midnight quiet of the foreign enclave. "Move! Move!" "Get moving! Surround the embassy!" Imperial Capital government troops and elite palace guards swarmed the avenue, sealing every perimeter of the Haedong Kingdom Embassy. Watching the trap spring from behind a literal wall of personal martial artists, Head Eunuch Gongsun Taerang felt the cold prickle of an old dread. If…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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"Well, then." Offering nothing more than that terse farewell, the young Imperial Son-in-Law turned on his heel. The Haedong embassy counselor followed in lockstep, his spine rigid as they departed the courtyard under the absolute protection of an imperial mandate. Head Eunuch Gongsun Taerang did not utter a single word to stop them. He stood like a stone monument, his jaw clenched so tightly that a muscle twitched beneath his skin. Around him, the gathered guards and court officials shifted from foot to…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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"..." Grand Nobleman's expression grew infinitely complex as she studied the cold, unblinking night sky. The Capital never intended to occupy Heilongjiang Province... When the Haedong Kingdom was founded in the ancient mists of time, its architects had not bestowed a unique name upon their sovereign seat. It was referred to simply as the Capital. Even now, after centuries of blood and expansion, it carried no other designation. She had been taught from infancy that the omission was intentional, a permanent…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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Gongsun Na-gang stood motionless, leaning heavily on his iron-headed cane. "I should have slit your throat back then instead of merely driving you out," Head Eunuch Gongsun Taerang spat, his voice trembling with a volatile cocktail of old fear and fresh rage. To absorb the fractured remnants of Gongsun Na-gang's inner-palace faction years ago, Taerang had orchestrated the old man's exile, confining him to the desolate slopes of Mount Beimang. It had not been a choice born of malice, but a clinical…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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"Grand Young Master," a seasoned vanguard warrior from the War Advisory Group murmured, bowing his head with crisp military deference. "Shall we relocate our theater of operations elsewhere?" Yeon So-hyeon turned his gaze toward the warrior, his expression completely blank. "Mm? What do you mean?" The warrior grew visibly flustered under that clear, unblinking stare. "Well... it is merely that these specific coordinates are rather..." "Ah." Only then did the reality of his surroundings register in…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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Through the deep, silent expanse of the night, a procession of heavy, armored carriages cut a swift path across the endless northern grassland. Within the lead vehicle, Grand Young Master Yeon So-hyeon sat cross-legged with his eyes firmly closed, his posture a monument of absolute calm. Upon his lap, the youngest child, Nan, leaned her small frame entirely against him, drifting in a heavy, peaceful slumber. She was at an age when children naturally required a great deal of rest. The unfamiliar, exhausting…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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The historical emergence of the Dread King was no mere accident of fate; it was a matter of absolute material inevitability. By systematically plundering the trade arteries of the Silk Road, where an immense, continuous tide of wealth surged between empires, the nomadic populations of the northern frontier swelled exponentially. Children were born in unprecedented numbers while the equine herds foaled without interruption. Inevitably, this compounding demographic explosion surpassed the carrying capacity…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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For the briefest moment, Grand Nobleman attempted to systematically analyze Yeon So-hyeon’s words, only for a bitter, self-deprecating smile to touch her lips. There was truly nothing left to deliberate. Yeon So-hyeon had utterly crushed the Dread King, Yelü Nuzhucha, in the opening engagement of the campaign. Grand Nobleman herself had been thoroughly outmaneuvered by the young lord in both tactical strategy and raw martial force, pushed to the absolute precipice of humiliation. "…Ha." She shook her…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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"And like this, we have formally secured a reliable primary power holder and a massive labor force that will voluntarily participate in our project." Yeon So-hyeon's words bordered on a casual joke. "Pardon...?" Maldalchae, still entirely incapable of grasping the geopolitical reality, lifted his bloodied face, his features contorted into an expression of sheer, unmitigated foolishness. "Wh-what project do you mean, Grand Young Master...?" "A question...?" So-hyeon's response was instantly colder than the…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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"Close ranks...!" "It does not matter whether you are from Mount Hua or Wudang. Build the formation together...!" "Shoulder to shoulder! I said shoulder to shoulder!" At the shouts of the first-generation disciples from each sect, the exhausted martial artists hurriedly gathered together, forming a tight circular formation meant to endure. Yet even as they braced themselves, they harbored no illusions about reinforcements arriving. DOOM! DOOM! DOOM! DOOM! DOOM! War drums beat heavily against their…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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"If you surrender..." Yeon So-hyeon's gaze drifted lazily across the two old masters, his lips curving into an effortless, chilling smile. "...You will retain your lives." "We're saved...!" The desperate exclamation burst unbidden from a young disciple's lips. Realizing the gravity of his outburst, the boy instantly dropped his chin, attempting to shrink away from the razor-sharp glares darting toward him from every tier of the formation. Yet, even those casting such venomous looks could not suppress their…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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At Yeon So-hyeon's razor-thin inquiry, the Sword Monarch of Huashan let out a dry, rattling chuckle. "...Heh heh." Beside him, Immortal Master Taecheong of Wudang released a slow, agonizing breath that seemed to drag from the very soles of his feet. "...Hoo." The silence stretched, heavy and suffocating under the young lord's placid, unreadable smile, until the sheer psychological pressure forced the elder masters to fracture first. "...Grand Young Master," Taecheong began, his voice devoid of its former…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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"Grand Young Master...!" Having ruthlessly forced her way through a dense throng of competing aristocrats, Governor-General Xianyu Hyeong-bi of Jilin finally arrived at the edge of the central clearing where Yeon So-hyeon stood. Yet, precisely as her boots touched the polished stone of the viewing terrace, a sudden, paralyzing hesitation gripped her chest. Ah... A cold droplet of sweat traced a slow path down her neck. What if her greeting was met with an icy, public dismissal? When the northern campaign…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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"And," Yeon So-hyeon continued, his melodic cadence carrying effortlessly across the listening terrace, "the most strategically viable candidate sites for the initial phases of this great reclamation project lie within Jilin Province. Naturally, the definitive boundaries shall be demarcated only following a rigorous, highly detailed geographical survey." "Grand Young Master...?!" Governor-General Xianyu Hyeong-bi of Jilin gasped, her breath catching sharply as her heart hammered against her ribs. The…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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The morning air within the Imperial Palace of the Central Plains Kingdom carried no trace of its usual pristine, cloistered serenity. Instead, a dense, frantic murmur rippled through the grand stone corridors as officials from every administrative tier converged upon the throne room. Long before the ceremonial drums could signal the Emperor's arrival, the court had already transformed into a psychological battleground. By word of mouth, the staggering scale of Yeon So-hyeon's Northern Territory Great…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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At the breaking of dawn, the temporary command pavilion on the northern frontier was bathed in a pale, amber light. Grand Nobleman, the supreme commander of the Haedong Kingdom's legendary Ironclad Cavalry, stood before the threshold of the strategic office. Typically an unshakeable monument of military composure, she now hesitated. Her breath caught in her throat as she struggled to comprehend the staggering geopolitical script laid out before her. "G-Grand Young Master..." Her voice stammered slightly,…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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"You committed every conceivable contingency to paper... and dispatched them all?" The Grand Nobleman blinked several times, her polished military composure shattering in an instant before a hollow, incredulous laugh escaped her. "Ha...!" Even as she clutched her porcelain teacup, that uniquely clear, boyish laughter filled the confines of the northern frontier pavilion. "What is so amusing?" A subtle, knowing smile played at the corners of Yeon So-hyeon's mouth. She shook her head, her fingers tightening…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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Upon arriving at the guest room, they were each served a cup of tea. Glug, glug. On the surface of the teacup, a rabbit and a mountain were intricately painted in gold. Applying such delicate patterns with gold required high-level craftsmanship, which naturally made it expensive. Yet, the servants set it down with practiced ease, meaning the Namgung Clan had plenty of such teacups. The difference in wealth was palpable, starting from even the most trivial details. For Hwanggu and Noe-jin, a large…
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1.7 M • Ongoing
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'Truly a strange fellow.' Namgung Ban became curious about what choice Jin Cheon-hee, the successor of Blood Qilin, would make. No, rather, what choice the emotionally adopted Zhuge Cheon-hee would make. The grudges of the Gangho were relentless; even an adopted son could not easily escape them. The Gangho called this one a madman under the heavens and named him One Light. But looking at him now, isn't he the opposite? He did not easily succumb to anger or let grudges dictate his actions.…
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1.7 M • Ongoing
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Arc 42. Above the Running Disciple Flies the Master With the dumplings successfully prepared, it was finally time for a tasting. Jin Cheon-hee had gathered the masters of the Pavilion's departments, not just the original four, but all seven. "Ho-oh, it has been quite some time since we last enjoyed dumplings," someone noted. "But we've eaten so many dumplings at the White Qilin Medical Pavilion that it will be difficult to impress us unless they are truly exceptional," another pointed…
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1.7 M • Ongoing
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"And what is this request?" Jin Cheon-hee asked. In such situations, people usually named a price in gold. "Would you be willing to teach my niece martial arts for just one year?" Jia Jun-hwa asked, setting his teacup down with a quiet clack. "In exchange, I will hand over all my business secrets." Cheon-hee noticed the man's fingertips trembling. So it isn't money after all. Martial arts instruction was not something granted lightly. While one could pay to learn at the White Qilin Medical…
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1.7 M • Ongoing
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Surging with an irresistible, savage momentum, the War Department's combat units tore through the Dread King's rear like a blade through parchment. "(Stop them! We have to—urgk!)" This was a nightmare far removed from the skirmishes that had defined the day. Unlike the Grand Young Master's previous vanguard, which had been plagued by a perpetual shortage of manpower, these fresh combat units possessed both the overwhelming numbers and the brutal martial prowess required to systematically dismantle…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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"Sect Matriarch Abbess Master..." Deep within the lightless reaches of the primeval forest, where the sun's rays failed to penetrate the dense canopy, only the eerie, cold glint of swords infused with internal energy flickered against the gloom. "Is there truly a need to make this difficult?" one of the Elders asked, her voice sliding through the shadows. "Relinquish your weapon and surrender quietly. Things will proceed far more smoothly that way." The Elders of the Emei Sect closed the distance with…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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A high cliff loomed over the battlefield. Though the sun slanted toward the west, casting long, golden rays across the world, night seemed to have claimed that precipice early. It was as if a thick shroud of clouds had descended specifically to swallow the heights in a localized, impenetrable gloom. The cause was singular. "...You are agonizing over it, aren't you?" A dark, ominous silhouette stood at the cliff's edge. Wrapped in a fluttering cloak of pitch-black Midnight Silk, Grand Young Master Yeon…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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"...Cutting our losses, you say?" The atmosphere in the room plummeted, growing heavy and frigid as if a sudden frost had descended. "Fourth Young Master." The representative of the Namgung Clan, his eyes sharp and unsettling, stared at Yeon Bi through a veil of tobacco smoke. "I find myself wondering if you truly grasp the weight of the words coming out of your mouth right now." "Oh, I grasp them perfectly," Yeon Bi replied. He didn't flinch under the elder's gaze; instead, his smile broadened. "In fact,…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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In the wake of Fourth Young Master Yeon Bi's departure, a heavy, suffocating silence gripped the room. Haa. The men left behind found themselves rooted to their seats, the weight of the conversation pinning them down. "This is a disaster..." the representative of the Zhuge Clan muttered, his fingers clawing through his hair as he slumped forward. "If things end like this, the Patriarch's prestige will be utterly shattered." The Zhuge Clan had become the center of public scrutiny ever since their pride and…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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The warriors of the Third Young Master's allied camp stood paralyzed. As they watched the elite legions of the Dread King Yelü Nuzhucha crumble before their eyes, a heavy, suffocating sense of defeat began to take root in their hearts. "Why... why hasn't the order to charge been given?" "We finished our preparations ages ago..." The absence of a decisive leader was a poison. Even before the first blow was struck, the lack of a command despite their readiness slowly drained their will to fight. Tsk. "Even…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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What kind of strikes would be unleashed by those who sought the absolute zenith, the superhumans among superhumans? The warriors on both sides, though charging toward one another, found themselves unable to tear their eyes away from the two figures at the center of the storm. "Huu—" Yeom Gwak-chu, the Sword Pinnacle Crushes the Mountain. The breath he exhaled was as heavy and immovable as Mount Tai itself. "Haa—!" The Sword Monarch of the Huashan Sect. His breath was as fierce and relentless as a…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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The commander of the Wudang Sect's northern expedition, Elder Immortal Master Taecheong, and the Deputy Head of the Sword Forest, Geom Gwi-hon, two legends of the Murim, were currently engaged in a brawl that would have made a common street thug blush. "You crazy bastard! You go for the throat immediately?!" "Look who's talking! Have you lost your damn mind?!" Because both men had been essentially belly-crawling through the mud of the crater, their opening strikes lacked the polished grace of a formal…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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Gam Woo-hyeon, the Mount Hua Sword Dragon of Mount Hua, was the personal disciple of the Huashan Sect Leader and overall commander of the northern expeditionary vanguard, bearing the weight of a prestigious lineage on his shoulders. Yet only a few days prior, his world had been upended during the assault on Shenyang, the seat of the Moyong Clan, where he had suffered through a hellish retreat that would remain etched into his soul for eternity, a nightmare that refused to fade. To add insult to injury, the…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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"Hraaaaaaaaagh!" Rumble! A sound like cracking thunder tore through the air, followed immediately by a bloodcurdling scream. "DIIIIIIIIE!" Third Young Master Yeon Jeok-gwang's white hair whipped violently in the wind as he unleashed a barrage of sword strikes resembling a pitch-black storm. Cl-cl-cl-cl-clang! "Kh...!" The center of the clash felt like the heart of a midsummer thundercloud, heavy with ozone and dark with impending lightning. With every explosive strike she parried, the Seamless Heavenly…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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"The Quanzhen heritage is guarding his upper danjeon; he won't succumb to the whispers of the Demonic Cult." "I see." That was the end of it. Grand Strategist Sima fell into a heavy silence following former Alliance Leader Wang Cheol-jin's assurance. Whether he accepted the statement or remained skeptical was unclear, but Wang Cheol-jin suspected there was a deeper reason behind the strategist's sudden quietude. "Well... no matter how much I ramble." Wang Cheol-jin offered a bitter smile, shedding his…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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He wanted to swallow the scream, but it was already tearing its way out of his throat. "Kuaaaaaagh!" The punch from Yeon Seo-rin, the Seamless Heavenly Robe, was far from a simple blow. The stomp of her lead foot triggered a surge of kinetic energy that rippled through her preternaturally resilient frame, traveling up through vast meridians and powerful muscle groups before exploding into her fist. This single strike, embodying three distinct principles of martial logic, pulverized the Third Young…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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To ensure the safety of the Grand Strategist, multiple armored carriages were always deployed during a campaign. This procedure, a standard safety and security protocol since the days of the old Martial Righteous Alliance, served a dual purpose: it provided a contingency should a vehicle be damaged, and it prevented enemies from pinpointing exactly which carriage the strategist occupied. "This way, Grand Strategist Sima," the senior strategists urged, their pace brisk as they ushered him toward a fresh…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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The sword that cleaved the heavens. Life-Severing. That singular strike was enough to momentarily freeze the heat of a battlefield that had only just been reignited by the Third Young Master's intervention. The warriors of the Dread King, burning through the last embers of their lives; the martial artists of Wudang and Mount Hua; the warriors of the Luoyang Sword Clan—every soul present was held captive by a vista that inspired an inexplicable sense of awe. Among the masses, there were those who…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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The battlefield had been plunged into a heavy, suffocating silence following the execution of Life-Severing by Yeon Seo-rin, the Seamless Heavenly Robe. That stillness was shattered by a sharp, elderly voice that rang out across the plains. "What are you all standing around for, staring like idiots?!" It was the Old Strategist, clinging to the handle of a War Advisory Group carriage. "If you lot lose your wits, who exactly is going to do the fighting for you?!" High atop the carriages of the Military…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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So-hyeon... Yeon Seo-rin turned the conversation over in her mind, her thoughts snagging on a single, jarring revelation. The timing of his emergence from seclusion matches the exact moment the current Demonic Cult revealed itself? It was an observation loaded with heavy implication, the kind that birthed a thousand dark suspicions. Instead of turning to her brother with questioning eyes, she tightened her jaw and stepped firmly into the space behind him, crossing her arms as her gaze hardened into a…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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The former Martial Righteous Alliance Leader remained silent, his gaze fixed on some distant point, but Yeon So-hyeon's voice continued to cut through the quiet. "Over there," the Grand Young Master said, gesturing toward the broken figure behind Wang Cheol-jin. "Look at the Third Young Master, sprawled there like a discarded toy." Yeon Seo-rin, the Seamless Heavenly Robe, followed her brother's hand to the unconscious Yeon Jeok-gwang. She noted with a clinical eye that the bleeding from his severed…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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The Venerable One of Dark Heavens... Despite her years of cloistered existence, effectively a prisoner within the deepest recesses of the Luoyang Sword Clan under the watchful eye of her master and aunt, the Head of the Guard Pavilion, Yeon Seo-rin had heard that name whispered countless times. "Did you hear? The Northern Flow of Hengshan was annihilated at the construction site for the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly." "Even if they weren't the sect of old, to be wiped out in a single night..." "And they…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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The War Department of the Luoyang Sword Clan. Beyond Yeon So-hyeon's party perched upon the cliff, the first to catch sight of them were the scouts on the ground. These were the long-range scouts of the Namgung Clan, a thin web of observers stretched wide across the outskirts of the battlefield. "You useless shits...!" The physical voice of the scout leader sliced through the frantic flurry of sound transmissions. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" According to the Namgung scouts' strict…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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"The War Department! It's the Sword Clan's War Department!" A spotter raced through the Military Strategy Bureau's encampment, screaming at the top of his lungs like a man possessed. At first, the assembled strategists merely stared at him as if he had lost his mind. "What is he raving about?" one asked, scoffing. "The War Department?" The arrogance was particularly thick among the senior members. "Scout Captain," one of them said, addressing the leader of the Namgung long-range scouts, "have you received…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat! The thunderous cadence of a synchronized volley shattered the air, shaking the very heavens and earth. The Sword Clan's War Department is using firearms?! The Northern field commander's mind reeled in disbelief. The intelligence provided by the New Martial Righteous Alliance never mentioned a word about the Sword Clan's War Department acquiring or training with guns...! Kh...! A searing pain erupted in his shoulder, likely a ricochet, and he felt the hot surge of blood soaking…
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1.1 M • Ongoing
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