Chapter 455 : Hundred Justice Alliance
Chapter 455: Hundred Justice Alliance
Yong Hwarin smiled faintly as he looked at the Alliance Leader.
“It’ll probably be when the Hundred Justice Alliance is already well-established and there’s nothing left for me to do. If I join now, I’ll end up buried in work like you. Why would I suffer through that?”
As he spoke with an expression that made it unclear whether he was joking or serious, everyone present turned to look at him.
“There was a move like that?! I’ve been suffering all this time.”
When Pang Giyok muttered, Yong Hwarin replied.
“Don’t be too upset, Giyok. You’re a founding contributor. Founding contributors are treated all the better because of that.”
Pang Giyok shook his head.
“You really can’t beat Hwarin when it comes to words.”
As the atmosphere lightened through their banter, Lady of Yeo Mountain asked a question.
“I’ve received the report. They say Young Master Yong killed the two lords of the Three Demonic Heavens? When I heard that the Lord of Blood Demon Castle, Moon Gyeom, and the Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult, Sandok, had died, I was absolutely shocked. I doubt you can imagine how much.”
“It was an unexpected encounter that turned into a fight.”
“I wonder if this means the Three Demonic Heavens and the Hundred Justice Alliance are about to be swept into a bloody storm.”
Jegal Yohye followed up on her words.
“Alliance Leader, the Blood Demon Castle and the Demonic Cult won’t be able to act rashly. Even though they lost their leaders, Dark Echo Valley will rush to absorb both factions. So far, the Three Demonic Heavens have maintained a balance of power, which is why they didn’t invade each other. Now that balance has been broken, it’s inevitable that war will erupt between them. There’s no way Valley Leader Sohyeon of Dark Echo Valley would miss such a perfect opportunity. Since the Three Demonic Heavens have united into the Hundred Justice Alliance, she’ll feel the need to consolidate her forces as well.”
“Of course, I think so too. But we must always account for the unexpected.”
Yong Hwarin tended to respect Lady of Yeo Mountain’s cautious judgment.
Because that was the way to shed the least blood in the Great Martial Battle of Moon and Orthodoxy.
“This time, I’ll use the full Alliance assembly to notify each sect of the situation and urge them to dispatch their elites. Even if the Three Demonic Heavens move, we must be able to end it in a single stroke.”
“That is a wise decision.”
Jegal Yohye also agreed with Lady of Yeo Mountain’s words.
Hearing the two of them converse helped relieve Yong Hwarin’s worries.
Even without his involvement, they were handling things well.
“By the way, when will Young Master Yong join the Alliance? We’re preparing the Azure Dragon Group for you.”
Yong Hwarin scratched his head and smiled awkwardly.
“Alliance Leader, I’m sorry, but I have too many things I must take care of. I cannot join the Hundred Justice Alliance.”
“But we need your strength, especially now when the Three Demonic Heavens are unstable.”
Lady of Yeo Mountain looked at Yong Hwarin with a firm gaze.
“I’m grateful that you think so highly of me, but I’ve yet to establish even my own foundation properly.”
“Very well. I’ll take a step back then. But if the Three Demonic Heavens rise again, will you come to the Alliance?”
Yong Hwarin couldn’t refuse after such conditions. It would have been discourteous to Lady of Yeo Mountain, so he nodded.
“Understood. When that happens, I’ll rush over to aid you without hesitation.”
Only then did Lady of Yeo Mountain smile with a look of relief.
“Hohoho, now I can finally sleep peacefully.”
At her laughter, some looked at Yong Hwarin with envy, while others looked at him with pride.
Yong Hwarin wanted to discuss the Martial Flower Lord with Lady of Yeo Mountain, but he didn’t want to drag the Hundred Justice Alliance into that affair unnecessarily.
If the Alliance ended up becoming enemies with the Martial Flower Lord, things would truly spiral out of control.
So for now, Yong Hwarin decided to consult someone else first.
Shortly after leaving the Alliance Leader’s office, a face came to Yong Hwarin’s mind.
Yong Hwarin sat alone in the guest hall under the pretense of practicing the Circulation of Qi, having slipped away from the five women.
He was contemplating his future path.
‘If it were Elder Masa, he’d probably have a way to break through this situation.’
As Yong Hwarin raised his head, lost in thought, he spotted Cheong Wangseo sitting silently on the beam, looking down at him.
‘You really show up at the most uncanny times.’
Yong Hwarin read the letter from Cheong Wangseo with a continuously shocked expression.
‘Good heavens, you took care of both Il Taegong and Yi Taegong by yourself? Not even the Great Young Master or Yang Gwak could handle those top-tier experts!’
Masa had written proudly about how he handled them at the birthday banquet. Yong Hwarin shook his head in disbelief as he read.
‘Maybe Elder Masa really is the world’s greatest. He must have taken their Hell King’s True Qi and already reached the Realm of Self-Existence.’
Recalling that fact, Yong Hwarin felt a surge of fierce competitive spirit toward Masa.
He wanted to compare his own achievements to Masa’s.
Even after achieving True Qi, he hadn’t yet fully tested its might.
No, the reality was that he hadn’t found anyone who could withstand it.
‘If it’s Elder Masa, he should be able to withstand my full power.’
With that thought in mind, Yong Hwarin picked up a brush.
Masa was devoting all his energy to reorganizing the Heavenly Demon Sect.
Since he intended to turn the sect into his own power base, there were countless things to fix.
First, he had to fill the upper ranks of the sect with his own people and then build his authority through them.
These were the fastest ways to make a faction his own—methods he had learned in his past life.
No one could control everything alone.
So it was most effective to impose his will through his subordinates.
In that regard, Hyangbyeok was doing well, moving exactly as he intended.
‘That’s why I’ve let you keep breathing.’
Originally, Masa had planned to eliminate Hyangbyeok. But recently, he felt that Hyangbyeok was following him with genuine loyalty, which made him reconsider.
The reason Masa’s intentions were able to be so thoroughly reflected within the Heavenly Demon Sect
was largely due to the martial prowess he had displayed when dealing with Eungjo in front of the sect’s Elder Council.
At the time, Masa had showcased one of the three supreme martial arts of the Heavenly Demon Sect,
the complete mastery of Dark Yin Cold Ice Art, which was enough to win over the Elders’ support.
They believed that since the young Eum Sajeok had mastered the Dark Yin Cold Ice Art,
the dream of the Heavenly Demon Sect would soon be realized.
Although Eum Sajeok had not even reached the age of thirty,
his overwhelming martial prowess compelled everyone to acknowledge him as the supreme figure.
Masa gazed upon the corpses of Il Taegong, Yi Taegong, the Great Young Master, and Yang Gwak.
He had opened their coffins before they were buried after the funeral tomorrow.
‘If I can absorb your Hell King’s True Qi,
I will surpass the level of Five Gaps.’
The Hell King’s True Qi of such absolute experts was a rarity one might never encounter in a lifetime.
Even with Il Taegong and Yi Taegong alone,
and though slightly lacking, the energy of Ok Kirin and Yang Gwak was still at a considerable level.
Masa couldn’t even estimate how much his inner power would increase after absorbing them all.
After a while, Masa finished absorbing all of their Hell King’s True Qi,
closed the lids of the coffins, and wrapped them again carefully with linen.
Then he returned to his residence and entered the closed training chamber Il Taegong had prepared long ago,
beginning his Qi Circulation Training.
Two days later, Masa’s eyes suddenly snapped open.
“Wahahahahaha!”
His booming laughter echoed so loud it seemed the chamber would collapse.
“I’ve finally surpassed the level of Five Gaps!”
Stopping his laughter, Masa thought to himself.
‘If I were my former self,
after acquiring the power of Five Gaps, I would have drenched the Murim in blood to dominate the world.
Back then, I was consumed by ambition.
But now that I’ve gained this power,
the fact that I don’t feel that same urge—
is it because I’ve lived two lives?’
Indeed, if it had been his past life,
he would have gone on a rampage with the power of Five Gaps to establish dominion over the martial world.
At that time, he believed that possessing such power and not using it was a sin—
so it was only natural he would’ve done so.
But now, after living twice, Masa had come to realize and understand many things.
No matter how wicked a man may be,
if given a second life, he would inevitably grow kinder.
Because he would come to realize what he had done wrong,
and why it was wrong.
Masa exited the closed training chamber, finished his cleansing, and put on his clothes.
The man reflected in the bronze mirror was, by any measure, that of a proud and imposing figure.
‘This life is my last.
So I don’t want to live with regrets.’
The eerie air that had once surrounded Eum Sajeok was gone,
replaced with spirited energy and the commanding dignity befitting the head of a sect.
Gazing at himself silently, Masa muttered.
“This… doesn’t feel so bad.”
Just then, a voice reported from outside.
“Lord Sect Leader, the Chief Administrator has arrived.”
Masa replied to the words.
“Escort him to the Council Hall. I’ll head there shortly.”
Hyangbyeok had become the Chief Administrator after previously being the Hall Leader of Unmilgak.
But since he still oversaw Unmilgak’s operations directly,
when he came to visit personally, it usually meant he had acquired important information.
As Masa entered the Council Hall, Hyangbyeok rose and offered a respectful greeting.
Since the day Eungjo had died,
Hyangbyeok had treated Masa with unwavering deference as the Sect Leader.
That was his way of navigating the world.
“Since you’ve come in person, I assume it’s something important.”
Masa asked while sipping tea.
Even though a cup had been poured in front of him, Hyangbyeok hadn’t touched it.
“Poison Valley’s movements are unusual at the moment.”
“The ones who used to hole themselves up in Yunnan—did they cause something?”
“No, it’s not that. Most of their forces have gathered on Mount Wangok.”
“Mount Wangok, you say.”
Mount Wangok (王屋山) was a mountain near the border of Henan and Shanxi, not far from Luoyang.
It was famous as the setting for the legend of Yu Gong Moves a Mountain (愚公移山).
“Investigate what’s in Mount Wangok.”
“Understood.”
After Hyangbyeok left, Masa let out a long sigh.
Ever since taking on the role of Sect Leader of the Heavenly Demon Sect,
he had been buried in constant responsibilities.
He longed to escape somewhere far away.
But he was in no position to actually leave, which only made it more frustrating.
‘At times like this, if that Yong brat were around, I’d be less bored.’
Come to think of it,
the most fun he had was probably when he had been parasitically residing in Yong Hwarin’s upper dantian.
As Masa sat on the throne mat and gazed into space,
he noticed Cheong Wangseo staring straight at him and thought:
‘Ah, I sent that letter to inform him of the Heavenly Demon Sect’s situation,
and it looks like he’s brought a reply.’
Cheong Wangseo had a habit of staring at the recipient when delivering a letter.
Masa received the letter from Cheong Wangseo, read it, and fell into thought.
‘That brat Hwarin… If he wants to meet me,
it’s definitely not just to congratulate me on becoming the supreme of the Heavenly Demon Sect……’
Seeing that Yong Hwarin had written that he wanted to meet,
Masa realized that there was something he couldn’t say in writing.
‘Right. I haven’t seen that brat in a while either.
I suppose it’s time to meet him.’
Masa wrote down a location and handed it to Cheong Wangseo.
Cheong Wangseo quickly gobbled up the letter and disappeared again.