Deep in the heart of the Demon Faction's central territory, inside the Obsidian Palace, whose pillars were made of black basalt that seemed to swallow the light, the atmosphere was tense. The scent of expensive agarwood incense burned in the corner, but its curling smoke seemed like a snake stalking its prey.
Empress Wei, the first wife of the Grand Master of the Demon Faction, sat on a chaise longue upholstered in white tiger skin. Her slender fingers, with nails painted blood-red, tapped impatiently on the armrest. In front of her, a hired agent prostrated himself, his forehead touching the cold marble floor.
"Repeat it again,"
The Empress's voice was low, yet it carried a tremor that chilled the bone marrow.
"You're saying... that bastard not only survived the Nine Regrets poison, but also restrained a Mastery-level Elder from Mount Hua?"
"Yes, Your Majesty,"
the agent replied with a trembling voice.
"It's not just about restraining. Moen Kang Yo, or whoever is currently inhabiting that body, has transformed Evernight Gate into a strange fortress. They don't fight like ordinary warriors. They use structural engineering, frequency traps, and... management."
Empress Wei laughed, her voice dry and devoid of humor.
"Management? Since when does an exile from a meditation cave talk about management? I sent him there to rot, becoming a forgotten ruin. But now you say he's renovating the sect?"
"Not only that, Your Majesty,"
The agent swallowed.
"The Namgung Clan... the Blue Sky Trade Alliance just signed an exclusive contract with them. Princess Namgung Shiri was even seen staying at their headquarters for an extended period."
Hearing Namgung Shiri's name, Empress Wei's eyes flashed with hatred.
"That bastard is starting to build a strong foundation. If the Namgung Clan injects funds into Evernight, its pillar of power will be too difficult to topple."
He stood, his long silk robes brushing the floor with a sharp rustle.
"We can't carry out a direct 'demolition' now. Spies from other factions are watching. However..."
He grinned slyly, "A foreman is only as strong as his supply of materials. Send a secret message to the Ironfang Tiger Guild on the Eastern Route. Tell them that anyone who can hinder the Moen Kang Yo renovation project will receive full support from my palace."
Empress Wei gazed out the large window overlooking the southern mountains.
"I want to see how well you build, Kang Yo, when all your materials start to betray you."
Back at Evernight Gate, the morning air was filled with the aroma of bitter coffee and burning pinewood. In a room now called the "Blueprint Room," Yoe Choin (in Moen Kang Yo's body) stood in front of a large desk. On the desk lay a map of the sect's eastern territories, marked with coordinate lines and technical figures.
Beside him, Baek-Un was slowly sipping his wine, while Jin-Pyo stood tall in his new plate armor, looking like a sturdy pillar of iron.
"The Eastern Route is a logistical disaster,"
Choin said, pointing to a narrow valley on the map.
"The soil is unstable due to poor drainage, and the wooden bridge there has reached the point of material fatigue. But that's not the biggest problem."
"The problem is the Iron Fang Tiger Guild,"
Baek-Un interrupted, his face looking more serious than usual.
"They're a small sect, but they're very powerful in field combat. They control the illegal collection posts along that route. Every merchant passing through has to pay an unreasonable 'tax.' If we want to improve the sect's economy, this route must become a clean artery."
Choin nodded, his glowing blue eyes scanning the incoming data.
"I don't want to simply drive them away. Driving them away will only bring them back when we're off guard. I want to carry out a Structural Acquisition."
"Acquisition?"
Jin-Pyo frowned, trying to understand his foreman's terminology.
"Does that mean we're going to slaughter them all, Young Master?"
"Heh, Foreman, let me do the slaughtering part,"
the voice of the real Moen Kang Yo echoed within, filled with suppressed bloodlust. "Those tigers need to know who the real owners of the land are."
"Patience, Boss,"
Choin said in his mind.
"Killing them is a waste of human resources. They are physically strong and know the terrain. We will bring them to their knees, then employ them as part of the 'Eastern Line Construction Unit.' They will be our elite laborers."
Choin turned to Jin-Pyo again.
"Jin-Pyo, prepare the Demolition Unit. We will bring our 'Auditing Equipment.' And Baek-Un, prepare the contract documents. We will give them two choices: become part of the new Evernight Gate pillar, or become rubble buried beneath the road we are about to build."
"Young Master,"
Han So-Wol entered the room with a stack of abacuses and financial records.
"The Namgung Clan has already sent the first installment of our contract. The gold is enough to pay the wages of the Year 1 and 2 students for the next three months. But if we undertake the project on the Eastern Line, our budget will be in short supply."
"Don't worry, So-Wol."
Choin smiled faintly, a smile that held the cold logic of a foreman. "The Iron Fang Tiger Guild has a warehouse full of loot for years. Think of it as a 'Construction Grant,' which we'll collect after tomorrow's field inspection."
That afternoon, Choin went down to the training field. He saw the Year 1 students practicing lifting large blocks of stone using the breathing technique he had just taught them—a variation of the internal technique focused on strengthening the core muscles.
"Jin-Pyo, how's the 'Demolition Unit' training progress?"
Choin asked.
"They've been able to hold a static load for two hours without faltering, Foreman,"
Jin-Pyo replied proudly.
"But they're still confused about why they need to learn how to measure the depth of the ground."
"Because a warrior who doesn't know the density of the ground beneath his feet is a warrior who easily collapses,"
Choin replied. He took out a simple measuring tool and showed it to the students.
"Remember, when we set off for the East tomorrow, you're not just carrying weapons. You're carrying the hope of improving our economic path. If you succeed, you'll no longer be just members of the feared Demon faction; you'll be heroes who build prosperity."
The disciples paused their training for a moment, gazing at Choin with a mixture of respect and admiration. For years, they'd only been taught to destroy. But now, someone was talking about building.
In a corner of the field, Elder Han-Seung (still undergoing treatment/imprisonment) watched the scene from the window of the medical pavilion. He rubbed his bandaged shoulder.
"That man..."
Han-Seung muttered.
"He's not training soldiers. He's laying the foundation for an invisible structure. If Mount Hua isn't vigilant, Evernight Gate will become a structure that surpasses all the factions in Jianghu."
Night fell on Evernight Gate. Choin returned to the balcony of his pavilion, enjoying the silence of the mountains. In his mind, he still remembered Namgung Shiri's face when her veil had flown off earlier.
"Foreman, are you daydreaming again?"
the real Moen Kang Yo teased.
"Thinking about the symmetry of Princess Namgung's face?"
"I'm thinking about the symmetry of the Eastern Line bridge, Kang Yo,"
Choon replied, though his heartbeat betrayed him slightly.
"Tomorrow is the beginning of our expansion. If we successfully acquire the Tiger Guild, Evernight Gate will have an unwavering logistics route."
The first steps toward economic and physical domination of the Eastern region were already planned. The Demon Overseer was now ready to conduct a bloody audit of anyone who dared to stand in the way of his future blueprint.