Yeon Woo Jin grinned at Yeon Cheon Baek’s words.“Don’t worry about that. No one’s taking Grandfather’s seat from you.”Proud, certain—Yeon Cheon Baek smiled, satisfied.“Of course! I trust you. But there’s one thing you should know.”“What is it?”“I put your name forward as a Little Heavenly Lord candidate—but not as my grandson. I listed you as Sama Cheon’s grandson.”“You figured calling me your grandson would kick up too much noise, right?”“Exactly. So I hope you understand.”“Of course. Master Sama Cheon is no different from a blood grandfather to me anyway.”Yeon Cheon Baek ruffled his hair as the boy answered with a bright smile.“Woo Jin. Go easy. Easy.”Knowing exactly what he meant, Yeon Woo Jin laughed.“Got it. I’ll go easy. They’re going to be my people anyway—no need to break them.”“Hahaha. Right. With you thinking like this, this old man has nothing to worry about.”“Then don’t worry, and have a safe trip.”“Alright. We’ll talk when I’m back.”“Yes!” ****A late hour.The key sects that now formed the Central Plains Alliance gathered to talk.“The Alliance Lord will soon depart to compete for the Little Heavenly Lord seat at Martial Deity Heaven. So I called this meeting to discuss what we must handle going forward.”The one presiding was the Huashan Sect Leader, Cheongyang Jinin.“Our most urgent task is to solidify the Alliance’s structure, isn’t it?”“Uniting the former Martial Alliance and the Four Evils Alliance will take time. Many sects will resist.”“The crux is how we persuade the ones who push back. We need solutions so the Alliance Lord doesn’t have to keep wearing himself out visiting sects.”“Agreed! He’s dashing about for peace in the martial world. We can’t just sit on our hands.”“We also need to plan how to persuade them.”“Let’s start with the sects we’re already close to.”Then the head of the Zhuge Clan, Zhuge Mun-yeok, rose to speak.“Bringing the dissenting sects in isn’t the real issue.”“Then what is?”“Do you think mere enrollment will make them follow our l—… the Alliance Lord? They might ignore him again like before.”At “ignore him like before,” the former Martial Alliance Lord and the former Four Evils Alliance Lord stiffened.Zhuge Mun-yeok bowed.“My apologies. We committed grave discourtesies against the Alliance Lord.”“Ahem. Water under the bridge. I’m fine—don’t dwell on it.”“Thank you.”Lifting his head, Zhuge Mun-yeok continued.“For the Central Plains Alliance to act as one, every member sect has to move in perfect step around the Alliance Lord. That requires absolute obedience.”“But they don’t know him.”“Then we make them know.”“How?”“We schedule times for him to bestow favor—just as he did for us.”“So we just lean on the Alliance Lord again?”“There’s no helping it. We can preach for a hundred days, but one direct experience will outweigh it. Even those of you here didn’t believe me until you experienced him yourselves.”Silence answered him.“So we make them experience it—turn them into absolute adherents of the Alliance Lord.”“I agree with the Zhuge head.”With the Huashan Sect Leader nodding, assent spread around the hall.Unanimous.Zhuge Mun-yeok went on.“To spare the Alliance Lord needless trouble, we will persuade them and bring them to the Alliance.”“Naturally.”“I’ll organize everything we discussed today and report to the Alliance Lord.”Heads nodded all around.His administrative chops were renowned; the paperwork would be flawless. They trusted him.The former Martial Alliance faction thought: the General Staff of the Central Plains Alliance will go to the Zhuge Clan.The unorthodox faction did not think so.If the orthodox had the Zhuge Clan, the unorthodox had the Gongsun Clan.The Gongsuns were strategists on par with the Zhuge.“How will we choose the Strategist?”At the unorthodox side’s question, the orthodox answered as if it were obvious.“Were you not listening? Our Zhuge Clan laid this out cleanly. With results like that, of course the Zhuge should take it.”“What nonsense! The Zhuge aren’t the only strategist house. Our unorthodox Gongsun Clan matches them, point for point.”“Isn’t the Gongsun Clan basically sealed behind its own doors right now? How is a house like that supposed to function?”“Even so, this is unfair. They deserve a chance.”“This isn’t for us to bicker over. We should ask the Alliance Lord. Who to appoint as Strategist is his decision, not ours.”Before it could turn into a shouting match, Zhuge Mun-yeok stepped in.“Correct. The Alliance Lord decides; we follow.”Grumbles closed into shut mouths.He was right.Choosing the Strategist was too important. Yeon Woo Jin had to pick.“Then when we submit recommendations, include the Gongsun Clan.”“Understood. I will personally recommend them.”“Very well. For now, you’re the sharpest mind in the room—we’ll proceed with your plan.”“Thank you.”Zhuge Mun-yeok thought:We need a Strategist quickly for everything to run right.And Yeon Woo Jin himself must publicly empower the Strategist for true command to stick.There was much to do.They had to shape an Alliance that ran smoothly even without Yeon Woo Jin present.They had to avoid bias toward any one faction.That meant bringing the Gongsun Clan into the General Staff.The problem: the Gongsun Clan was in no condition to participate.Whatever was going on, they’d named no successor, halted external activity, and all but sealed their gates.Zhuge Mun-yeok weighed his approach.He intended to go persuade them himself—but would a former rival even hear him out?Still, better him than sending someone else.First, though, he had to compile today’s work and report to Yeon Woo Jin.“Haa… there’s truly a mountain to do.”He sighed and hurried back to his quarters. ****When Zhuge Mun-yeok arrived with neatly organized documents, Yeon Woo Jin felt like the Alliance Lord of the Central Plains for real.“What are these?”“A digest of today’s discussion with those who’ll form the Alliance’s leadership. Arranged for your easy review.”“Thank you.”He read through the papers one by one.“This is good. Making the sects come to us. Saves me from visiting every last one.”“If you give us a day that suits you, we’ll handle the rest.”“Alright. First order is converting the old Martial Alliance headquarters to the Central Plains Alliance, right?”“Yes. The scale is larger than before, so we may need a significant expansion.”“We don’t know when the Demonic Cult will emerge. Expanding buildings is a waste of time. Let’s maximize what we already have.”“Understood.”“Just secure as much space as possible to install the Time-Space Division Formation.”“No worries there. We already have a location in mind.”“Good.”“We’ll do our best so you won’t have to micromanage.”Yeon Woo Jin smiled—and read on.“Hmm. The General Staff…”“We need a command body for when you’re not here.”“True. I can’t be stationed at the Alliance forever.”“Exactly. So the most urgent task is founding the General Staff and appointing a Strategist. Which means we must persuade the Gongsun Clan quickly.”“The Gongsuns?”“Just as the Zhuge represent the orthodox side, the unorthodox side has the Gongsuns. If we include them and run the General Staff jointly, orthodox and unorthodox can merge without fighting.”“The road’s long. After all that brawling, there’s still more to fight about?”They’d fought themselves sick inside the Time-Space Division Formation, yet here they were again.What could he say?“They’ve been archrivals «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» for ages. They won’t turn chummy overnight.”“Fair. Where is the Gongsun Clan?”“You needn’t worry about it. I’ll persuade them and bring them.”Yeon Woo Jin shook his head.“No. That won’t satisfy hearts. I went in person to the Zhuge; if someone else goes to the Gongsun in my stead, how do you think they’ll feel?”“A fair point—but you have much on your plate.”“Even so. I have to return to Martial Deity Heaven anyway; I’ll stop by the Gongsun on the way. And if they’re essential to fusing orthodox and unorthodox, then I should go.”“However… the Gongsun Clan is effectively sealed.”“Sealed? Some problem?”“I have no idea. They’ve halted external activity and tightly control all comings and goings. We can’t learn any internal situation.”“Hm. Then I could be turned away at the gate.”“Exactly. Which is why I should go. How could I watch you be refused at the door?”“No. I’ll go. There’s clearly something going on, and I want to hear it from them.”“But…”“You trust me, don’t you?”At that, Zhuge Mun-yeok couldn’t argue further.“I do.”“Then leave it to me?”“…Yes, Alliance Lord.”“Then I’m counting on you to keep the Alliance steady while I’m gone.”“Leave it to me. When you return, I’ll have it running perfectly.” ****Departure day for the Gongsun Clan.Yeon Woo Jin chose the former Four Evils Alliance Lord, Su Cheon Kang, as his companion.“Tell me about the Gongsun Clan.”Su Cheon Kang answered as best he could.“They were indispensable—from founding the Four Evils Alliance to running it. Truly irreplaceable.”“They served as your General Staff?”“Yes. Until last year, the Gongsun Clan was our brain. Then, one day, they withdrew from the staff and ceased all external activity.”“I’ve heard they also looked after you.”“They did. I kept the Alliance Lord’s seat largely thanks to their help.”“Do you know why they withdrew?”Su Cheon Kang shook his head.“No. I begged them not to leave me, but they said they had no choice—and withdrew.”“Without giving any reason?”“Yes. I even pleaded for just the reason, but got nothing.”“Nothing strange you noticed? No odd signs?”“Mm…”He thought for a moment—then seemed to recall something.“The Gongsun Clan hasn’t produced martial talent in a long time. Perhaps because of that, they were unusually focused on physical enhancement.”

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