Knowing the future had many advantages, but I couldn't completely rely on it.

Because in many cases, the information was incomplete.

Cheondong Cave was one such example.

The Jianghu Spiritual Elixir Record only noted the specific location within Cheondong Cave where the Five-Spirit Immortal Flower Milk appeared, and the Murim Alliance Xi'an Branch's report only stated the fact that the Zhongnan Sect ultimately claimed the Five-Spirit Immortal Flower Milk.

Rather than disparaging it by saying 'That's just how pen-pushers work,' concisely recording only the essential information was actually better in terms of efficiency.

If the world had made it standard to record every trivial detail, I would have lost my mind memorizing the Mantong Bureau's files and become useless long before dying at Kwak Gung's hands in my past life.

'So there's no need to feel regretful or complain.'

When it came to the affairs of the world, one naturally had to know how to let the trivial things slide.

However, unlike me and my large vessel, it seemed my cute junior disciples did not feel the same way.

"How is! This! Hoo! Strategy at all!"

"Feint east! And strike west?! No! Why...! Are we! The feint in the east!"

"What kind! Of scammer! In the world! Haa! Gets caught! In their own! Scam...!"

"Eeing... It's too hard!"

The Taiyi Sect disciples had just encountered their third group of Zhongnan Sect disciples.

Yet, even while facing the Zhongnan disciples, they subdued their opponents while shouting complaints instead of battle cries.

Hmm, looking at their moves, they had definitely all grown.

But why did I feel somewhat displeased?

"... Were you just saying that for me to hear?"

After all, didn't the ancient sages say that a superior should not distort the meaning of their subordinates' words?

I checked with that thought in mind, just in case.

"Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! No!"

"Pant! Pant! Pant! Of course not! No way!"

"Yes, yes! We weren't talking to you, Eldest Senior Brother! We really weren't!"

"..."

What's this? Why are they denying it so desperately.

Regardless, apart from Dongryong, who hesitated while smacking his lips, the others violently shook their heads and denied my words.

"That's a relief."

"..."

"I really didn't want to add more iron rings and steel plates when you guys are already having such a hard time."

"..."

"What are you doing? Do you want the iron rings?"

Perhaps moved by their Eldest Senior Brother's boundless, ocean-like grace, the kids kept their mouths firmly shut after that and diligently took care of the Zhongnan disciples.

In truth, I hadn't expected the plan to go this wrong either.

'Did they scatter their disciples throughout the entire Cheondong Cave?'

I had purposely designed it so there would be a gap between when the third entrance opened and when we entered.

If the Zhongnan disciples flocked to the third entrance to stop the sudden influx of people, we could use that chaos to enter from the opposite side and raid an empty house.

However, there was one thing I hadn't anticipated.

The fact that the Zhongnan Sect were bigger idiots than I thought.

'Even if they blocked the entrances, to think they would scatter their disciples this thinly.'

Did they think the entrances they blocked would never be breached?

Or did they think no one would have the guts to force their way through a path blocked by the great Zhongnan Sect?

Well, either way, I could only conclude that their heads were so stuffed with a sense of superiority that it was overflowing.

Moreover, perhaps because they had scraped together every disciple from their main mountain, the ones greeting us were young kids whose bones hadn't even fully matured yet.

"Huh? Who goes there!"

"Intruders!"

The ones we met in the next cave, who appeared to be fourth-generation disciples of Zhongnan, jumped in surprise and yelled at the top of their lungs.

But just like before, no additional disciples came running.

My junior disciples charged in unison and subdued the Zhongnan disciples.

The four who had initially used their swords quickly realized they were facing opponents who didn't warrant it, and jumped in bare-handed.

"You villain! Draw your sword!"

"Well, I wouldn't go as far as villain..."

"Eek! How dare you look down on Zhongnan!"

For kids who hadn't even properly built up their internal energy, their swordsmanship was fierce.

However.

CLANG!

"Huh?"

They couldn't hide their bewilderment at the physical tanking—no, the divine might—of the Taiyi Sect disciples who raised their iron-ring-clad arms to block the sharp swords.

"They're... they're wearing gauntlets! Aim for their hearts!"

The quick-witted ones swiftly withdrew their swords and tried thrusting into their torsos again, but...

CLANG!

"Huhhh?"

... This time, it was blocked by the steel plates, dulling the blades and only damaging the swords.

"F-Fuck, what is this..."

What do you mean, what is this? It's the result of grueling training.

Seeing The Geum-eun-dong Brothers and Saryeon moving so nimbly despite wearing heavy steel-plated vests made me incredibly satisfied.

"To think the day would come when I could take on Zhongnan disciples this effortlessly."

TAP! CLANK—

Then, Eunho lightly deployed a grappling technique to snatch away the sword and struck the kid's paralyzing and mute acupoints, causing him to slump to the ground.

It took less than half a quarter-hour for the five Zhongnan Sect disciples to be subdued.

But our stamina would eventually reach its limit too.

"Eldest Senior Brother, is it really okay to keep going like this? We won't be able to keep fighting our way through."

As Eunho said, it was a concern.

It wasn't a problem right now because they were fourth-generation disciples, but it wasn't like every other area would exclusively have fourth-generation disciples.

We could somehow manage third-generation disciples, but if we encountered a group mixed with second-generation disciples or bumped into first-generation disciples, it wouldn't end with merely subduing them.

Yet if we tried to look for empty tunnels, there were Zhongnan disciples scattered in every direction.

'In the worst-case scenario, if we run into the Big Dipper swordsmen...'

No. Let's stop with the bad thoughts.

Even during my Minor Orthodox Unit days, whenever I said something jinxed, it inevitably became reality.

Things always blew up whenever we said things like 'Are they dead?', 'Did we win?', or 'Did we survive?'

It got to the point where we later designated those phrases as forbidden words.

Just then.

TWITCH.

Standing at the very back, Dongryong twitched his ears and looked back at the tunnels we had passed through.

"What is it?"

"... Well. I just have a bad feeling."

The senses of the Heavenly Slaughter Star manifested in superhuman ways.

Especially when it came to survival and death, his instincts were arguably sharper than most experts.

I quickly shot out my qi sense in a single point.

Tracing back through the tunnels we had passed, one by one, all the way to the entrance we came in through.

CHILL!

I felt the sensation of every hair on my body standing on end.

'They noticed my qi sense?'

In order to utilize my practically non-existent internal energy since my Minor Orthodox Unit days, I had honed my senses in microscopic internal energy manipulation to a level no one else could match.

To think they noticed my stealthily spread qi sense.

"...!"

On top of that, they even shot back killing intent along the path of my qi sense, as if to confirm their presence.

This was no ordinary expert.

"Haa..."

We're fucked.

A first-generation disciple? Or Hall Leader level?

I didn't know.

However, it was certain that this dangerous figure had discovered we had entered the cave.

TREMBLE, TREMBLE.

Dongryong's face grew pale beside me.

"E-Eldest Senior Brother... c-can't we just leave?"

No matter who the opponent was, Dongryong was usually one to fearlessly step forward the moment he felt the urge of killing intent, but rather than the killing intent surging to suppress the Heavenly Slaughter Star, his cold rationality reacted first.

If Dongryong was this uncomfortable, I had to assume the person was incredibly dangerous.

"Right. Let's move."

I stopped my junior disciples, who were about to familiarly execute the Turtle Breath Footwork as they had done so far.

"From now on, do not use the Turtle Breath Footwork, let alone any moving cultivation art. We move as fast as possible."

"..."

Leaving traces behind was a given, and considering the possibility of drawing more pursuers, it was an incredibly dangerous choice.

But right now, shaking off that pursuer was the only thing that mattered.

["Zhongnan will try to secure the Five-Spirit Immortal Flower Milk at any cost."]

The words Cheol Sunjik had spoken kept surfacing in my mind.

* * *

"Gah!"

"Keugh!"

"Ugh!"

The Zhongnan disciples collapsed.

The group we just encountered occasionally had third-generation disciples mixed in.

After we started moving, more than half a quarter-hour had already passed.

Spreading my qi sense to check would only serve to directly broadcast my position to the enemy, so I looked at Dongryong instead.

"Dongryong!"

"... I think they're still coming!"

Damn it.

Dongryong's face was still pale.

I immediately gave an order to my other junior disciples.

"We're just pushing through!"

"Senior Brother! Then more of them will gather."

Two groups had already joined forces and started chasing us.

Before we knew it, every passage was packed with Zhongnan disciples.

We didn't even have the luxury to despair.

"Just increase your speed!"

I drew upon five stars of my internal energy. And instantly swung the Great Heaven Sword Technique.

CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLASH!

Countless sword afterimages filled the tight space, terrifying the Zhongnan disciples.

Relying only on torches, it was difficult for them to distinguish between the momentarily created phantom swords and the real sword.

Moreover, these were merely third and fourth-generation disciples.

They flinched and stepped back at the sight of the rushing blades, and my junior disciples used that opening to escape the tunnel.

From the very back, I fired Sword Qi toward the rocks above the Zhongnan Sect disciples' heads.

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

A portion of the cave ceiling was sliced off, and the falling rocks blocked half the entrance.

The moment I fired Sword Qi again to block the remaining half.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BANG!

At the same time, Zhongnan palm techniques were blasted toward the falling rocks.

Crazy fools. If you recklessly use palm techniques like that in a cave, inescapable fragments will go flying everywhere...

SWISH—

Sure enough, rocks the size of human heads shot outward like cannonballs.

'Damn it...'

I didn't know how sturdy this cave was, but if I hastily counterattacked here, this entire area might collapse.

Ultimately, to prevent my junior disciples from getting hurt, I had no choice but to block the rocks.

"Everyone, get back!"

Just as I was about to deflect the flying rocks with the Ten Thousand Transformations Invincible Fist.

"Haa!"

A shadow stepped in front of me to block them.

THUD! THUMP! THUD! SMASH!

It was none other than Geumpyo.

"Senior Brother, are you okay?"

Blocking the rocks with his Vajra Shield, he was actually asking about my safety instead.

I nodded instead of answering.

He kept his back to me and stared straight ahead.

"I'll guard the rear."

His back looked quite sturdy.

I let out a soft chuckle and replied.

"Alright. I leave it to you."

While I took a breather thanks to Geumpyo.

RUMBLE!

The ceiling collapsed with an ominous sound.

The shockwave from the Zhongnan Sect's palm force had spread, causing the surrounding cave area to begin collapsing.

I shouted at my junior disciples.

"Run!"

CRASH!

An incomparably larger amount of rocks and dirt rained down than when I had sliced the ceiling.

I spread my qi sense forward and led my junior disciples in a direction devoid of Zhongnan disciples.

"Left!"

"Right! Right again!"

After passing through five forks in a flash, the trembling of the cave gradually subsided.

"Pant! Pant! Pant! Wow! We almost really died that time."

"Ugh, those crazy bastards... Who fires off palm strikes like that inside a cave?"

"Eldest Senior Brother, are we okay now?"

Are we okay? I don't know either.

Because we fled to avoid the collapsing cave first, our direction had shifted slightly from our destination.

The biggest problem was the whereabouts of the expert caught by my qi sense earlier.

It would be best if he had been swept up in the collapsing cave and rendered unable to chase us anymore, but...

"Dongryong."

"... Yes."

At my call, Dongryong shook his head as if he wasn't sure.

It was clear he thought we had ended up like this because he had suggested we just leave.

I looked into his eyes.

"It doesn't matter if it's accurate or not. Just tell me what your gut says."

Right now, we had no choice but to rely on the Heavenly Slaughter Star's sixth sense.

Under my gaze, Dongryong clenched his fists tightly.

"... I'm still anxious."

Damn it.

The tunnel we came from was blocked, so that expert would find another path.

Now, it was a situation where we couldn't even predict where the expert would pop out from.

"Let's move."

For now, we had no choice but to keep moving.

Because I couldn't even imagine how things would unfold if we ran into that expert here.

"Left."

"Left."

"Left."

"Right."

To escape the expert's sphere of influence for now, I led my junior disciples to the most deserted areas possible.

Fortunately, there didn't seem to be anyone with senses as sharp as that expert from earlier, as no one noticed the qi sense I was spreading.

And with every move we made, Dongryong's complexion gradually returned to normal.

A sign more welcome than anything else.

When we slowly started to run out of breath.

"We'll rest here for a bit before moving on."

While my junior disciples slumped to the ground and engaged in moving cultivation, I opened the map in my mind.

The map of Cheondong Cave I newly obtained from the Hao Sect.

It was a map where even the remaining thirty percent that the Beggars' Sect hadn't marked was completely filled in.

'We've strayed too far from the original route.'

If Zhongnan didn't possess a complete map, we could hold some hope for the rest of our journey, but...

According to Cheol Sunjik, the Beggars' Sect had handed a complete map over to Zhongnan.

It was a situation where we could only hope that damn expert was clueless about reading maps.

Just then.

SPRING.

Dongryong, having finished his breathing cultivation, sprang up from his spot.

He looked at me with wide, rabbit-like eyes.

"..."

"..."

There was no real need to say anything.

He was heading this way again.

The other junior disciples must have noticed too, as they quickly finished preparing to move.

"Let's go."

We dashed through the cave once again, finding paths with as few people as possible.

But no matter how much we moved, Dongryong's expression didn't improve.

'Just how close is he?'

While I was momentarily lost in that thought.

"Ha."

I had no choice but to stop my steps at the three-way fork before us.

"Eldest Senior Brother?"

Damn it...

I could feel people's presence in all three tunnels.

And quite a large number of them, at that.

Where should we go?

I couldn't come up with an answer at all.

However.

'At least I know we shouldn't go back.'

I gripped the Black Dragon Sword.

"Prepare for battle."

"..."

Just as my junior disciples followed me and were about to draw their swords with stiff faces.

RUMBLE.

People poured out from all three tunnels simultaneously.

"Huh? What's this? Were there previous guests?"

"Are you Zhongnan disciples?"

"No. They're not wearing Zhongnan Sect uniforms."

Every single one of them was wearing different martial attire.

Their weapons varied as well. From swords to great sabers, staffs, and spears.

These people holding different weapons were...

None other than the martial artists who had been protesting at the entrance of Cheondong Cave.

"Eldest Senior Brother..."

"Don't tell me..."

While we had been running frantically.

We had unwittingly arrived right near the third entrance.

Fuck.