Volume 6 Chapter 49
Husband and Wife to Battle - Demon Blade Re-Emerges
The four unorthodox factions, the Seven Champion White Princes and the Central Plain's three orthodox religions maintained equilibrium between them ever since their rise to prominence in the pugilistic world.
The League of Assassins - an association in the darkness, the Western Region's Demon Cult, the enigmatic Sky Palace and one other place made up the four influential unorthodox factions, hence their classification as the "Four Unorthodox Sects."
The Seven Champion Princes ruling Jiangnan, guarding the capital and crowned as "The White Monarch" and the scattered factions part of the martial world were considered the orthodox sects, as they were the chief upholders of justice in the martial world.
The fearless and lawless four unorthodox sects, the sly and astute Seven Champion White Princes and everlasting embodiment of justice, the orthodox sects, had always sustained a frail balance between them. No faction ever volunteered to sabotage said balance. Absolutely, they often had conflicts with each other in the pugilistic world - going as far as exterminating clans - but the leaders never left their base. Perfect events to illustrate the point would be Shaolin and Wudang's alliance, when they decided to eliminate the League of Assassins or Sky Palace poisoning everyone in Gold and Silver Sect.
If the balance between the three ever crumbled, the martial world would drown in an ocean of blood. The blood spilt, the sects annihilated and the prices to be paid weren't going to be mere numbers on a page. If the tension between them ever erupted, it would never end until there was only one standing. None of the factions could afford the costs - not just financially - involved. The orthodox sects' three main representatives, Shaolin, Wudang and Mount Daluo even laid low in the pugilistic world primarily for the same aforementioned reasons.
The factions drew a line determining what was considered acceptable expansion and remained within that unwritten boundary. If anyone wanted to bolster their forces, influence and so forth, they would be very cautious and adopt a slow approach. The balance was as sensitive as a relatively young girl's thighs. One slip and one could end up wiped off the map.
Despite the three greater factions' efforts to protect the fragile balance, a fourth faction rose, expanding their power from the South to the North rapidly. Their ascension to power triggered a major disturbance; however, none of the three greater factions stepped in to stop their rise, for nobody wanted to pay the price involved.
The majority of the main factions perceived the fourth faction's rise to be an insignificant and short-lived spurt until reality was smashed into their faces. The fourth faction's growth exceeded estimations; their development wasn't measured in years but days. The fourth faction's new White Tiger Hall would pop up in Jiangbei today, and a new Vermillion Hall would've popped up in Zhenjiang by tomorrow. Their expansion was witnessed daily. Their development wasn't remotely insignificant or short-lived. Their development was of cataclysmic scale, and nobody could predict how much destruction they would bring about. By the time they were deemed dangerous, it was too late; nobody could stop their growth. Those who attempted to stop them were utterly decimated.
The new faction became the new standard in the martial world and a leader. Their rise to power was attributed to their new leader who appeared out of nowhere and led his followers over countless walls. The man who ignored the unwritten rules of the martial world to rise up was the incarnate of chaos, the Demon King: Ximen Chuideng. The faction that saw a meteoric rise was the Demon Sect of twenty years ago.
The Demon Sect's influence and power was unprecedented in the era Ximen Chuideng led the sect with his Divine Moon Cult's two Leaders, three Guardian Kings, Lawless' four Guardians and Black Lotus' six Emissaries. All those among those teams were top-tier adepts in the martial world. In addition to them was their enormous group membership they referred to as branches. There were over a thousand branches that housed formidable warriors. Thus, the Demon Sect was practically omnipotent during that era.
The Demon Sect was notorious for their imperious nature. When Liu Shan Men's erstwhile captain challenged Ximen Chuideng to a duel at the Forbidden City, Ximen Chuideng rocked up alone and set fire to a number of buildings in the imperial palace, infuriating the Emperor. Rumours claimed Ximen Chuideng had a helper nearby; nevertheless, nobody could confirm the authenticity of the claim.
The Seven Champion Princes, the orthodox sects and four unorthodox sects were reluctant to admit the Demon Sect overtook them. The century before the Demon Sect's rise, nobody could truly dominate the martial world. The Demon Sect, Ximen Chuideng, was the first to successfully dominate it.
During the Demon Sect's era in power, they had two adepts who easily qualified to rank among the Supreme Ten Saints. One of them was the man who was ranked equally to the best broadsword user in the lands. They called him Blade Demon.
Blade Demon wielded weapons with the cutting edge on the opposite side. He was notorious for his kill count. Those who wanted to exact vengeances on him could amount to an army. Interestingly, he wasn't fond of the sun or socialising with others. He resided in a valley where sunlight was rare. He only left the valley late at night when it was quiet. There was poem describing his formidable skills as so: "Nine Nether Sunless Gorge, a gorge where the evil wind forever looms. When the moon shines on a void, the blade slaughters countless men."
Ever since the Demon Sect fell from power, Blade Demon seemingly vanished without a trace from the pugilistic world, and nobody ever saw his style again until he resurfaced alongside Kong Duan.
Long Cheng's Evil Wind Myriad Blade was a short broadsword style derived from Blade Demon's Broadsword Style. While the style wasn't as famous as its original source, Blade Demon, its uniqueness lied within its unpredictability. Evil Wind Myriad Blade inherited Blade Demon's style in the sense that its attacks were ruthless. Owing to the lethal nature of it, it was categorised as an unorthodox style in the pugilistic world.
Blade Demon loathed human interaction to the point he nigh killed people for nothing more than to appease his disgust. The only people he didn't kill was fellow members of the Demon Sect. He rarely passed his skills onto anyone. He handpicked a small number of adepts who met his standard to pass on Evil Wind Myriad Blade. That was why there were no doubts the style's users were those from the Demon Sect.
Bai Lian wore a berating expression as she remarked, "Kong Duan colluded with the Demon Sect. He is scum among scholars."
Long Cheng kept his silence until he heard Bai Lian mentioned "Demon Sect." His gaze turned hostile, and he sternly said, "How dare you insult the Demon Sect! You will not be shown mercy."
"Don't jump to conclusions on your own," said the Emperor, smiling confidently. "You're overestimating yourself. Do you think I would be here on my own? Men!"
A large group of guards in golden armour stormed into the hall. Among the guards were four members of the Seventeen Hidden Dragons. Tang Ye and Bai Lian were also present. Long Cheng's defeat seemed set in stone.
Disappointed, the Emperor commented, "Kong Duan must've taken men with him if he knew I was here. He's no fool. It's a pity he escaped."
Meanwhile, Long Cheng didn't look perturbed in the slightest. He kept his eyes on Bai Lian and Tang Ye, as he was intent on targeting the two for insulting the Demon Sect. He calmly stated, "You have yet to see Blade Demon's true potential. Evil Wind Myriad Blade is only one move... Don't take your eyes off this one."
Long Cheng threw his daggers into the ground then spun around and drew a long broadsword from a warrior's belt.
"Wind of Death."
Like its name, Long Cheng's murderous aura swept through his opponents similarly to a gale bringing death upon them.
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