Chapter 570: Chapter 570

"Gate Organization? Those vermin still weren't wiped out?" Odo's gaze sharpened. "Two years ago, the whole Hongli Empire's Covert Martial Arts community swept out and butchered nine-tenths of them in the Eternal Archipelago, leaving them on the brink of collapse. I didn't expect that they would dare show up under our very noses again..."

"Such audacity... It isn't boldness but backing. Even the most foolishly overconfident group wouldn't expose itself while half-crippled." Cassius, holding a white porcelain cup, walked slowly to the window. He sipped the warm tea, breathed the moist cool air and watched the golden sunlight dance over the rippling lake.

"There is only one possibility for the Gate Organization to resurface now." Cassius lowered his lids, voice pausing in the gloom. "Xiadu."

At that name, Odo and Fog Man, once two of the Treatment Ward's four commanders and now two of the Golem Sect's four elders, exchanged a glance. Each could see the mute silence in the other's eyes, and a trace of dread beneath it.

Xiadu, leader of the Gate Organization, was also its most mysterious being. Yet no one dared ignore or belittle him, as the deputy leader of the Gate Organization had been an extreme combat artist!

In any age, the whole world might hold barely a handful who reached that level. Yet the Gate Organization's deputy leader steadily claimed one of those scarce fingers. That was one reason the Gate Organization was called the most dangerous organization.

If every deputy leader was an extreme combat artist, what rank, then, was the leader? Only the one with the biggest fist could command the crowd. Let alone a leader like Xiadu, a dragon glimpsed by their scales, who left the daily running to his deputy leader. Xiadu was assuredly an exceedingly powerful master!

There were always rumors about Xiadu. Some said he was ageless and undying, others that he was a blood-drinking fae or an immortal monster. Others claimed a deputy leader merely inherited the single name "Xiadu". Still others insisted there was no Xiadu and no leader at all in the Gate Organization. The deputy leader was the true head and the title merely a hollow post.

Truth and lies mingled till no one could tell them apart. Of course, these were tales from outside. What Odo and Fog Man knew of Xiadu came mostly from Cassius. Whatever the sect master said was absolutely right, beyond question.

Therefore the Gate Organization's leader Xiadu existed for certain, and was a tremendous threat!

The meteoric Golem Sect was booming across the empire and even the world. Yet the Gate Organization, with Xiadu, still possessed strength enough to make the sect wary. When Xiadu lay hidden, he was little concern; now that he seemed ready to surface, vigilance was imperative.

"Blood Mist, I'm leaving this to you. Pull some of your people and find out exactly what the Gate Organization has done these past six months..." Cassius turned, fixing Fog Man with a gimlet gaze.[1]

"Yes, sir!" Fog Man nodded sharply and accepted the order.

"Go now. The sooner the better." Cassius drained the tea in one draught and handed the cup to the waiting Odo.

Fog Man turned to depart at once. As he stepped outside, he transformed into a crimson mist bat and shot skyward, leaving a parabolic streak of tail flame.

Back in the study by the window, Cassius withdrew his gaze and spoke.

"Odo, come. Let's meet this South-Crane Fist sect... The missing fragment of the Qi Engraving Technique will solve a fair-sized problem for our sect..."

He opened the door, left the building, and headed off into the distance. Half an hour later, Cassius held a pile of torn manuscripts. Pages rustled as their contents poured through his mind like water.

Moments before, he had met several members of South-Crane Fist. Everyone of the school, young or old, was elated. The lone elder was thrilled because he saw a hope of revival. The Golem Sect Master had truly appeared before them.

That clearly meant high regard. The Secret Technique the sect sought eighteen months ago was indeed significant!

The younger South-Crane Fist generation were excited because they'd met their idol, or rather, their revered exemplar. Cassius's name had spread worldwide since the international exchange tournament ended.

Subsequent events had only accelerated things; the sect's influence grew, and Covert Martial Arts flourished among ordinary folk. That only sent Cassius's fame to its zenith, blazing like the noon sun.

One could say younger practitioners and those entering the arts these past two or three years were all fervent Cassius worshippers. People training the simplified Southern Dipper techniques revered everything about the sect master as sacred scripture.

Think about it: in an ordinary world, you suddenly learn terrifying monsters in the dark eat humans and that your life might end anytime. Despair, confusion, and profound powerlessness would follow. At that moment, an arm yanks you from the vortex and hands you a gun and sword. It lets you grasp power, seize your destiny, and fight the monsters. How could such grace ever be repaid?

Yet a figure like the sect master required no repayment from commoners. Their gratitude naturally became worship. They copied Cassius's manner, style, and even attire. Most such news was rumor exaggerated from scraps and scales.

Thus, in the last two years, a batch of deviant Covert Martial Arts hobbyists had emerged. Their methods were brutal, behavior frenzied and perversely extreme. They hunted dark creatures, pouring the fear of their weaker days into a lust upon the creatures.

A thousand-blade slow deaths, quartering by horses, gutting—and even rape! Yes, raping dark creatures... And not by one man either—sometimes five brutes in turn...

Even the Ghetto Four would likely glance in awe at such news. It was insane; even Cassius, on hearing it six months ago, had fallen silent for half a minute as fingers tapped the desk. After a long hush, he managed to squeeze out one sentence.

"As expected, when the Qi Engraving Technique is incomplete, the Six Southern Dipper Volumes and the Golem Heart Codex carry a bizarre magic. They have likely become slaves to the fist techniques, venting brutality upon what once terrified them..."

In short, Cassius would never admit these new enthusiasts raped dark creatures because they idolised and imitated him. It had absolutely nothing to do with him.

Now, with the missing Qi Engraving Technique fragment in hand, he could at last mend the hidden pitfalls and side-effects. For some reason, Cassius felt a breath of relief. Of course, it wasn't because his reputation would avoid further smears. Rather, he was glad the Covert Martial Arts world could now develop healthily and practitioners need no longer bear those side effects. Yes, that was it. The source of this content ɪs novelꜰire.net

Yet a wisp of worry crept in.

If I fix the texts and such acts still happened, then what? Wouldn't there be no exc—cough...Not necessarily; past trainees still bore the old side effects. Only the new version would fade them out.

1. Blood Mist seems to be Fog Man’s alternative name or nickname. ☜