“Because no martial prodigies have emerged, they’ve been obsessed with body reinforcement?”“Correct. Especially now—the child slated to be the successor is said to have an exceptional mind but a frail body. That may be why they’ve focused even more on bodily reinforcement.”Su Cheon Kang looked to Yeon Woo Jin.“If you go and harden the Gongsun Clan’s successor with the Yoga Tendon-Reversing Heaven-Dance Formation, they’ll follow the Alliance Lord.”What the Gongsun Clan wants most is exactly what Yeon Woo Jin possesses.What could be better than this?Su Cheon Kang was certain.The Gongsun Clan would come under Yeon Woo Jin’s banner.Meanwhile, Yeon Woo Jin was sunk in thought.There are many ways to fortify the body.The Yoga Tendon-Reversing Formation was one of them.But a strategist clan that had been researching body enhancement suddenly halted every affair great and small and all but sealed its gates?That suggested they hadn’t used anything normal.They had used an abnormal method—and side effects had followed.If those side effects were severe enough that they could not be allowed to leak outside?Then the Gongsun Clan’s current behavior made sense.What counts as an abnormal method?Yeon Woo Jin began combing every scrap of information in his mind.But there was nothing in his head that fit a “keep-hidden-at-all-costs” abnormal method.Which only made him more curious.What in the world did they do that they have to hide it this tightly?It could be tied to the Demonic Cult.What if the Demonic Cult, knowing what the Gongsun Clan wanted, had taught them a Demon Realm technique?What if they adopted that method—and then it produced side effects in a human body?It was plausible.Rather than just thinking about it, he felt he had to go and collide with it himself.Yeon Woo Jin said to Su Cheon Kang,“Get ready and come out. We leave immediately.”“Understood.” ****A heavy air hung over the Gongsun Clan’s grand assembly hall.The clan elders wore grave expressions, exhaling sigh after sigh.At length, one elder spoke.“Sighing won’t ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) solve this. We need countermeasures.”“Hrmm. If it were so easily resolved, we wouldn’t be wringing our hands like this.”“What’s the Young Clan Head’s condition?”“Dire.”“Still craving blood?”“Yes. The Great Rite failed completely.”“Damn it—we never should have trusted that sorcerer.”“The abilities that sorcerer displayed were too extraordinary. In practice… the children who received the sorcerer’s Great Rite mostly did have their bodies reinforced.”“And because we don’t know when those children might turn, we imprisoned them all. We never should have brought that sorcerer in to begin with.”“Enough. There’s no use bickering over what’s already happened. What matters most now is the Young Clan Head’s state. Report whatever you’ve found.”Told to “lay out what you’ve learned,” they all turned mute as fish.“Nothing?”“Skulking around to avoid attention has limits. Why not formally petition the Four Evils Alliance for aid? If it’s the Alliance Lord, he’ll help us.”“You think they’ll take back those who abandoned the Alliance? Nonsense.”“Then what do you propose? Leave the Young Clan Head as is? What if he dies like this? Who takes the seat?”“Agreed. No one in the clan matches the Young Clan Head’s intellect. The rest were all driven to focus on martial arts; they know nothing else.”“In the worst case, we may have to seat a cadet-branch head.”“Hrmm…”The Grand Elder groaned.“Any word of that runaway sorcerer?”“We haven’t found him. Whether he flew to the heavens or sank into the earth—he’s nowhere.”“If we at least caught him, we might learn a remedy.”“The fact that he vanished the moment the Great Rite ended means he anticipated failure. I will personally seize that bastard and tear him limb from limb.”As the elders vented their fury, the doors opened and a man entered, and they all rose to their feet.“Clan Head!”It was Gongsun Chan, the head of the Gongsun Clan.Seeing him enter the chamber with a face full of worry, several averted their eyes, unable to bear the sight.Once the Clan Head took the seat of honor, the hall fell quiet again.“I’m aware of everything Mingyi was reporting. Continue.”“Well… we searched in all directions for a way… and could not find one.”Gongsun Chan nodded weakly at the elders’ words.“I expected as much. I too tried every avenue… and learned nothing. This is entirely my fault. I… overreached and am being punished for it.”“No, Clan Head—you’ve labored more than anyone for the clan.”“That’s right. Who here doesn’t know your toil? It isn’t your fault. The blame lies with that damned sorcerer who deceived you!”“We’ll catch that wretch and force out a solution.”Gongsun Chan shook his head.“Mingyi is worsening. He was a frail child to begin with… I fear he doesn’t have long.”“Clan Head!”“Before, feeding him blood seemed to improve him somewhat… Now, even that fails. Blood does nothing.”“There must be a way! You must not give up.”Gongsun Chan spoke with effort.“If Mingyi dies… we must seat a new Young Clan Head. Elders… please seek candidates for the next Young Clan Head.”“Clan Head! What defeatist talk is that! Get a hold of yourself!”The Grand Elder barked.Even at the rebuke, Gongsun Chan calmly replied.“Grand Elder.”“Speak.”“What I just said is an order—as Clan Head.”The Grand Elder’s features tightened.An order from the Clan Head.Even the Grand Elder must obey it.Refuse, and the Clan Head’s authority collapses—and when that collapses, the clan ends.Knowing this well, the Grand Elder swallowed his anger and bowed.“I… receive the Clan Head’s command!”As he shouted, the other elders rose, reluctantly accepting the order.The moment his elders accepted, Gongsun Chan stood and departed with heavy steps.The instant he left, the hall erupted.“What is this…”“Grand Elder! What should we do?”“What do you mean what! Didn’t you hear? The Clan Head issued an order!”“S–so we truly search for a Young Clan Head candidate?”“Pretend to. And by any means necessary, find a cure for the Young Clan Head! I’ll reach out for any physician who can improve his condition even a little.”“U–understood.” ****The Grand Elder immediately commissioned every information outfit he could, seeking a miracle-working physician beyond the famed masters.News that the Gongsun Clan was searching for a miracle physician told the networks someone gravely ill lay within the clan.Was that dire patient the reason the Gongsun Clan had shut itself in?That part they couldn’t know.But because the reclusive Gongsun Clan was now actively soliciting, everyone drew the same conclusion.If they could just slip a physician inside, they could learn what was happening—so each network nominated the best doctor it knew and sent dossiers to the Gongsun Clan.A mountain of physician dossiers piled on the Grand Elder’s desk.CHWA-RAK— CHWA-RAK—The Grand Elder flipped through them with a flat expression.None pleased him.What did he want in a physician?Someone the world didn’t know well—and who didn’t boast of accomplishments.But every physician listed was renowned.Names everyone in their region would recognize.Unacceptable.After a long while turning pages, he found one profile.No name. No age.Only what he had done.He had treated the lady of the Namgoong Clan.A disease every master physician in the Central Plains had despaired of.That meant even the physicians he’d just read could not cure her.The Grand Elder swept all the other dossiers aside and studied this one closely.This is the one.Something told him this person might, just might, understand the Young Clan Head’s illness.In over eighty years of life, his intuition had never once been wrong. It spoke for this person as well.The sender of the dossier:“The Afternoon Gate.”The Afternoon Gate—somehow, that inspired more trust.The Grand Elder immediately began writing a letter to the Afternoon Gate.The content: find this person and send him.In secret. ****Yang Gi-u, Master of the Afternoon Gate.He was prostrate before Yeon Woo Jin.Su Cheon Kang was startled to learn he was the master of the Afternoon Gate.Not only the Beggars’ Sect—now the Afternoon Gate was under Yeon Woo Jin as well.The letter he brought was even more surprising.It came from the Gongsun Clan.A request to locate the physician who had once treated the Namgoong Clan’s lady of the house.“Because the Gongsun Clan wanted data on outstanding physicians, I felt like bragging a little, so I wrote only what had been treated… and now they’re looking for you, my lord. I apologize.”Yeon Woo Jin chuckled at Yang Gi-u’s apology.“Do you know where we’re headed right now?”“I don’t.”“The Gongsun Clan.”“…What?”“Is it a coincidence? Or fate?”“Truly?”“Yes. We were already on our way there on clan business.”He perused the letter as he spoke.“Whatever else, something has definitely happened inside the Gongsun Clan. And this line—‘a physician who can move in secret’—is interesting. Why would they need secrecy?”“Because there’s something they want to hide, isn’t it?”“Exactly. Whatever it is, it can’t be allowed to reach the world. Hence the total halt to external activity, living cut off from the world.”His curiosity only grew.“We need to hurry. I’m too curious to sit still.”“Then you’ll go as the physician?”At Su Cheon Kang’s question, Yeon Woo Jin grinned.“Isn’t that the easier approach? You’ll need a disguise.”“Understood, Alliance Lord.”“Don’t call me Alliance Lord there. Call me ‘Doctor.’”“Then I’ll disguise myself as a servant.”No sooner had he finished than sounds rose from his face.CRACK— KRAK—With the sounds, his facial bones twisted wildly—and in moments he became someone else.The Body-Shift Visage Art.A martial art that lets one freely change the face.“I did a lot of things when I was young… learned it then to change my appearance.”Scratching his head, Su Cheon Kang spoke.Yeon Woo Jin, looking very pleased, said,“Good. No one will recognize you. Let’s go as is.”“Yes, Allia—… Doctor.”The Gongsun Clan’s front gate.It was shut tight with not a single guard in sight.The atmosphere around the gate felt almost desolate.Disguised as a servant, Su Cheon Kang approached and knocked.THUD THUD THUD—After a moment—The door opened and a warrior with a murderous look appeared.“What is it?”Su Cheon Kang answered coolly,“If you summon us and then ask ‘what is it,’ how are we to respond?”“What?”“The physician… did you not send for one?”At the word physician, the warrior flinched.“We came on notice from the Afternoon Gate.”Indeed, there had been standing orders: if a physician arrived via the Afternoon Gate, report at once.The warrior spoke hurriedly.“P–please wait a moment. I’ll inform them inside.”“Do so.”“I’ll be right back.”

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