Chapter 13. A Third-Rate Warrior Who Protects His Sect’s Honor (7)
Fundamentally, why could the Iron Sword Sect not enter the One Hundred Eight Peaks?
They had no justification.
The One Hundred Eight Peaks was a position much like a symbol of the Murim Alliance.
Five hundred years ago, with the appearance of the Demonic Cult, the righteous sects scattered throughout the Murim had gathered, accepting their own sacrifices, and what they created was the Murim Alliance.
The Nine Sects and One Gang and the Five Great Clans had been its central pillars.
After that, it was praise for the allied sects that had joined the Murim Alliance and shed blood.
Among the entire One Hundred Eight Peaks, as many as one-third were sects that had continued to hold their positions in the One Hundred Eight Peaks for five hundred years.
For a position in the One Hundred Eight Peaks to change meant that there had to be a justification just as great.
Then what about the Murim Alliance that decided such things?
Though the Nine Sects and One Gang and the Five Great Clans had established themselves as absolute spheres of power and grasped the Murim Alliance in their hands, even the Murim Alliance was not operated solely by the logic of absolute strength.
In the end, what moved the Murim Alliance was also a grand battle of justification.
In that sense, Jegal So-myeong had lost his justification and found himself in an awkward situation.
‘This is…….’
As he reviewed one by one the board laid by that child, Jin So-un of the Taeul Sect, and considered his intentions, he had missed the proper moment to step in. The flames that had blazed up from the Iron Sword Sect had sent sparks flying even onto him, the Grand Strategist.
“Impudent! Before whom do you dare utter such reckless words!”
Seong Cheon-wol was shouting fiercely, but Jegal So-myeong felt more strongly that he wished the man would shut his mouth.
If the situation worsened as it was, the Iron Sword Sect and even the Murim Alliance were truly about to be drenched head to toe in filth.
“My father knelt all night to save me, and even after the Iron Sword Sect Leader’s vile plan was revealed, he forced the martial duel to proceed. Yet when that martial duel turned unfavorable, he interfered in it.”
Jin So-un pointed at Seong Mo-hyeon.
“At that man’s words, ‘It is witchcraft,’ the Iron Sword Sect Leader, as if he had been waiting for it, drove the Taeul Sect into being an unorthodox side path, and all the while, the Murim Alliance did nothing.”
Jin So-un’s voice was filled with rage and resentment.
The thought that he really should have stepped in at that time still weighed on him desperately.
“What am I supposed to trust as I sheath my sword!”
The people seated there nodded, each in their own way.
Then they looked at him, who was no different from the representative of the Murim Alliance.
‘Checkmate.’
No matter how he thought about it, the things that had just occurred did not seem like coincidence.
There was only one reason he thought so.
That child, Jin So-un, had not panicked even once.
He had faced head-on the conspiracy that seemed to have been intended by the Iron Sword Sect, and even though every situation around him had been disadvantageous to him, he had ultimately created a board favorable to himself.
Did it make any sense for a young man not yet twenty to remain unshaken when he heard the words “forbidden art”?
Jin So-un had shown his innocence with a dignified bearing, and along with that, he had entangled even the Iron Sword Sect and the Murim Alliance onto his board.
This was no time to simply admire him.
If Jegal So-myeong made one wrong move, the name of the Murim Alliance could be smeared with disgrace along with the Iron Sword Sect.
What should he give?
What could he give to settle the conflict between the Iron Sword Sect and the Taeul Sect and make the people recognize that the Murim Alliance was, as expected, the being that established order in the Murim?
Even thinking over it briefly, nothing came to mind.
Because in truth, there was no way such a thing could exist.
Still, that did not mean there was no answer.
“……Then what do you want?”
He merely had to pass the answer over.
If Jin So-un said he wanted the truth, or he wanted an apology, or that there was something else he wanted, then Jegal So-myeong could simply give it to him in moderation, soothe him, and end the matter.
If the situation looked as if it had been resolved well, this incident would disappear from people’s minds just like that incident said to have happened twenty years ago.
But then.
“I want the Iron Sword Sect Leader’s head.”
“……!”
As Jegal So-myeong listened to Jin So-un’s words, he nearly burst into laughter.
It was truly a move he had never imagined.
A bizarre, extraordinary move that pressured not only the Iron Sword Sect Leader but even himself, the Grand Strategist.
If this were a game of janggi or go, it was such an astonishing move that he would have wanted to overturn the board.
Wanting the Iron Sword Sect Leader’s head meant he wanted a duel between the two of them.
Even if that child Jin So-un drew up his innate energy, could he truly take the Iron Sword Sect Leader’s head?
But if Jin So-un died because of mutual destruction, Jin So-un would become a martyr who had sacrificed his life for his declining sect and family, while the Iron Sword Sect and the Murim Alliance would become Black Path ruffians who had ignored ethics and justification, oppressed a weak sect, and made him die unjustly.
This matter would become a political weapon for a long time, driving the Murim Alliance into a corner and bringing down the Iron Sword Sect.
It was the moment when the life of one person became equal to the Murim Alliance.
‘Heh heh, the Taeul Sect had someone like this?’
Though he had been driven into a corner, what stirred in him was curiosity rather than anger or panic.
It even went so far that the thought crossed his mind, ‘What would that bastard look like in Mantongbu?’
‘Then I cannot let him die here. For the sake of the Murim Alliance as well, that must not happen.’
“If you feel you have been insulted, then you should repay it with insult.”
Jegal So-myeong nodded as if agreeing.
“But do you have the skill for that?”
“I will absolutely collect the price of blood.”
“…….”
Jegal So-myeong’s gaze was steady.
A genius beyond genius.
If Yong So-ah was a genius who could not be approached in the world of martial arts,
Then Jegal So-myeong was an existence like Yong So-ah in the world of letters.
Jegal So-myeong, who had passed away just before the Great Righteous-Demonic War broke out.
In some circles, many said that if Jegal So-myeong had only been there, the Murim Alliance would not have been torn to shreds like that.
He was an existence that outstanding.
Jegal So-myeong was already weaving around the trap I had dug, avoiding it this way and that.
“No, no. If that happened, it would be resolving the matter through an unreasonable method, just as you experienced.”
As expected, he was not easy.
“Then there is another way.”
“What is it?”
“That shameless three-generation family should perform full-body prostrations and apologize for everything that has happened until now.”
“……Mm. But if that happens, would we not be unable to confirm whether you learned a forbidden art?”
“Then does the Grand Strategist have a solution? Opposition merely for the sake of opposition is the behavior of politicians.”
For some reason, Jegal So-myeong seemed to be greatly enjoying this situation.
I could see his lips twitching as he forcefully held back laughter.
“Sect Leader, how certain are you?”
At Jegal So-myeong’s question, Seong Cheon-wol stammered.
“Yes? Th-that is……”
“Can you stake the sect’s signboard, at least?”
“What?!”
Seong Cheon-wol raised his voice without dignity, then soon coughed in vain.
“Ahem. Grand Strategist. Is discovering and uprooting forbidden arts not the natural duty of us of the Orthodox Path, who purge demons and destroy evil? Why would I stake the sect’s signboard on such a thing? If you say I must take responsibility, then as that child said, I will take responsibility by the sword.”
The Iron Sword Sect Leader, Seong Cheon-wol, was thrashing about wildly without even knowing that he had been caught in a spiderweb, and Jegal So-myeong, frustrated at the sight, roared.
“Did I not already say that was the wrong method!”
“Th-then, in that case……”
“How about your sect’s divine weapon, Sect Leader?”
Seong Cheon-wol widened both eyes as he looked at Ghost Sword Immortal Elder’s Ninefold Sword, hanging in the center of the great hall.
“Th-that is.”
“Are you not certain, Sect Leader? I do not know what happened at last night’s banquet, but every situation I have seen today was unreasonable itself, exactly as that child said. Was this truly nothing more than committing vile acts with the Murim Alliance at your back?”
At Jegal So-myeong’s words, the Iron Sword Sect Leader’s gaze moved back and forth between the deathly pale Seong Mo-hyeon and me.
Then, from his mouth came the sound of teeth grinding.
“Very well. Let us do that!”
Along with his answer, the Iron Sword Sect Leader tried to stomp toward me.
I raised my hand and stopped him.
“There is a condition.”
“Stop already!”
“If we are going to do this, we should do it properly. What if the Iron Sword Sect Leader conducts the examination himself, and even if nothing appears, insists that I learned the Great Star-Absorbing Art?”
“Do I look like such a man in your eyes!”
“Judging by your actions thus far, I think you are more than capable of doing so.”
Jegal So-myeong nodded.
“Waiting for the Execution Pavilion would take too much time, and it would not do for the Iron Sword Sect Leader’s sixtieth birthday banquet to be delayed further by an unpleasant matter. I will confirm it myself. With that much, you can accept it, can you not?”
Jegal So-myeong slowly passed the Iron Sword Sect Leader and approached me.
“Now, calm down your qi.”
I withdrew my innate energy and held out my right hand to Jegal So-myeong.
Because the Great Star-Absorbing Art absorbed the qi of others, all kinds of other qi existed within one’s inner arts.
Therefore, it was not particularly difficult to confirm whether one had learned the Great Star-Absorbing Art.
“…….”
Jegal So-myeong’s qi, which had been gently probing my Dantian, vanished in an instant.
“……Ahem.”
Jegal So-myeong, who did not open his mouth for a while, looked at the Iron Sword Sect Leader.
The Iron Sword Sect Leader swallowed, as if flipping over the final tile in a gamble where all his wealth was at stake.
And then.
“This man has not learned the Great Star-Absorbing Art.”
“Ah……!”
At Jegal So-myeong’s words, the Iron Sword Sect Leader and Seong Mo-hyeon wore expressions of disbelief.
“That is not true! He definitely learned the Great Star-Absorbing Art.”
“M-may I examine him myself?”
At the Iron Sword Sect Leader’s words, Jegal So-myeong frowned.
“The Founder’s sword is at stake.”
“…….”
When Jegal So-myeong took one step back, the Iron Sword Sect Leader seized my hand as if snatching it and roughly poured his qi into me, beginning to rummage through my entire body.
“W-wait……”
Because of his rough torrent of qi, my blood vessels, which had already been strained from drawing up my innate energy, began to run wild.
“Stay still!”
The qi that had been rummaging through my whole body finally touched my Dantian roughly, and my rampaging blood vessels eventually began to reverse their flow.
“Bleeergh.”
Without even a moment to defend myself, heavy blood surged up my throat.
The floor was quickly filled with the blood I spat out.
“What are you doing!”
“So-un!”
“This man, in the end!”
Startled, Jegal So-myeong shook off the Iron Sword Sect Leader’s hand and attempted to strike my acupoints, but I continued to vomit blood.
Jin Tae-san and Kang Chae-seok looked as if they would engage in a life-or-death battle with the Iron Sword Sect Leader at any moment.
“How can this be……”
The Iron Sword Sect Leader’s expression was one of disbelief.
Feeling that the situation had become grave, Seong Mo-hyeon spoke desperately.
“That is not true! Grandfather! I certainly felt it clearly. If that were not the case, there is no way I would have lost to that bastard, is there?”
“Shut up!”
I pushed away Father, who was supporting me, and tried to stand.
“You must not stand yet. I have not finished treating you.”
Jegal So-myeong pressed down firmly on my shoulder, but I roughly brushed his hand away with my bloodstained hand.
“…….”
“So-un!”
After barely raising my body, I also shook off Jin Tae-san’s hand.
Blood was still flowing from the corner of my mouth, and Seong Cheon-wol and Seong Mo-hyeon were looking at me with horrified eyes.
“Pay…… the price!”
I held out my hand.
“…….”
“For this vile act committed by you and your descendants, cough…… pay the rightful price!”
My fingertips trembled.
The Iron Sword Sect Leader could do neither this nor that, and was only busily rolling his eyes.
“Bleeergh!”
When I poured out another mouthful of blood, Jegal So-myeong, unable to bear watching any longer, took my hand and glared at the Iron Sword Sect Leader.
“Sect Leader, keep your promise.”
“……Grand Strategist, how could you do this to me……”
“It was all your own actions, Sect Leader. You made the promise with certainty, and you injured the other party’s body with your rough qi. Show responsibility and confirm that you are an ally of the Murim Alliance!”
“……I will compensate him for this matter, and at the sect level, I will bestow three Iron Heart Pills upon that child.”
“Grandfather!”
The Iron Sword Sect Leader looked at Seong Mo-hyeon as if he would kill him.
“If you open your mouth one more time, know that I will cut out that tongue.”
The Iron Sword Sect Leader spoke to Jegal So-myeong as if pleading.
“Regarding this matter, a disciple of our sect committed a grave mistake. Even so, the sacred relic of the founding patriarch is not something that can be handed to anyone carelessly, is it not? Would settling it here not be more helpful to each sect?”
Jegal So-myeong looked at me as if seeking my agreement, and instead of answering, I gripped my sword.
“Then…… I will have to receive the price of blood.”
When I even tried to shake off Jegal So-myeong’s hand, Jegal So-myeong thundered.
“Iron Sword Sect Leader! As a member of the Murim Alliance, do you intend to smear the Murim Alliance’s name!”
At that frostlike shout, Seong Cheon-wol’s eyes flashed open.
“This was a matter where I, this Strategist, attended as witness. Do you intend to frame an innocent man as a criminal and pay no price at all? Do you truly wish to know the terror of the Murim Alliance’s Execution Pavilion?”
“…….”
In the end, the Iron Sword Sect Leader, not confident he could bear Jegal So-myeong’s wrath, lowered his head.
“Bring the Ninefold Sword.”
Seong Ju-tak brought the Ninefold Sword with trembling hands, and Seong Cheon-wol received that sword and held it out to Jegal So-myeong.
And Jegal So-myeong placed the Ninefold Sword upon my hand.
“Is it enough now?”
At his words, I closed my eyes.
