Chapter 10 : Branch Meeting
A branch meeting!
It was a place of harmony and communication where the prestigious Orthodox Faction, the Nine Great Sects, gathered the sects that followed them within their sphere of influence. It was also a place to resolve various problems and disputes within their sphere of influence and to draw up a blueprint for the future.
If Huashan held it, it was the Huashan branch meeting. If Wudang held it, it was the Wudang branch meeting.
And the branch meeting held by Qingcheng was, of course, the Qingcheng branch meeting.
Sichuan had been a home to many people since ancient times due to its rich environment, and that was why three sects called prestigious had been established there.
Qingcheng, Emei, and the Tang Clan!
Sichuan, where three powers, each of which was not lacking to become the hegemon of a province, were gathered, was a famous den of demons in the martial world.
There, the Tang Clan preserved its power through blood ties, but the Daoist and Buddhist sects, Qingcheng and Emei, could not.
Of course, there were often cases where a sect that had previously belonged to the Qingcheng or Emei branch moved to another sect's branch.
And Mysterious Profound Sect had also done so.
In the past, when Mysterious Profound Sect belonged to the Qingcheng branch, there was a conflict with the Qingcheon Sect, which also belonged to the Qingcheng branch, over commercial rights. They requested mediation from Qingcheng, but at that time, a person sent from the Qingcheon Sect was sitting in a key position in Qingcheng, and because of that, Qingcheng made a biased mediation.
Disappointed by that, Mysterious Profound Sect left the Qingcheng branch and entered the Emei branch.
In fact, this kind of thing happened often in both the Qingcheng and Emei branches, but the reason why the young disciple of Qingcheng knew about Mysterious Profound Sect was because he was a blood relative of the Qingcheon Sect, which had had a conflict with Mysterious Profound Sect in the past.
They had sent people to Qingcheng for generations, and in the current generation, they had also sent a young child to Qingcheng. And now, strangely enough, the young disciples of the Qingcheon Sect and Mysterious Profound Sect, who had caused a dispute in the past, had met again at the Geumjo Merchant Guild.
Of course, both of them were only about twelve years old, but although their personalities were different, they both had their own way of being 'martial artists.'
That's why the descendant of the Qingcheon Sect and a disciple of Qingcheng called the disciple of Mysterious Profound Sect a 'traitor' who had left the Qingcheng branch. And Jang Yuhan, a disciple of Mysterious Profound Sect, did not know that the boy was a descendant of the Qingcheon Sect, but he could not forgive anyone who insulted his sect, even if it was a disciple of Qingcheng.
As the atmosphere between the two became hostile, the martial artists who were drunk on the festive atmosphere nearby approached. Among them were ronin, people from nameless martial arts schools, and people from famous sects. They did not take the dispute between these young boys seriously and regarded it as a small amusement.
That's why they incited these two proud young martial artists to settle the score fair and square on the dueling stage where the martial artists had been showing off their skills until just a moment ago. The two proud young martial artists readily accepted, and the duel began.
In the early stages of the duel, the young disciple of Qingcheng had the upper hand. Yuhan countered the momentum of the Zhengfeng Sword, the basic sword technique of Qingcheng that focused on the subtleties of connection and illusion, with the Yuyu Sword, which had the subtleties of flexibility and sharpness. But the subtlety of the Zhengfeng Sword's continuous connection overwhelmed the flexibility and sharpness of the Yuyu Sword, preventing him from using his strength properly.
But Yuhan was not flustered or intimidated at all.
If it had been the Jang Yuhan who had not experienced defeat in three moves at the hands of Jang Baekseo, the outcome would have been uncertain.
But to Jang Yuhan, who had grown as a martial artist through his duel with Jang Baekseo, the Zhengfeng Sword, which was fast and had a continuous connection whose end could not be known, was by no means an unbeatable opponent.
At first, it seemed that Yuhan was being pushed back, but slowly, Yuhan's sword began to block and deflect the forms of the Zhengfeng Sword.
Just like how his senior brother had broken the flow of the form's power in his duel with him!
Of course, the depth was different. The three-move break that Jang Baekseo had shown to Yuhan was a break of Yuhan's attack, which had moved first, with the subtlety of a late-starter's preemption. It also required a corresponding insight to completely see through the opponent's form's flow despite being a late-starter. Compared to that, the technique that Jang Yuhan used was much simpler.
In the process of the Zhengfeng Sword forming a continuous connection, there are moments of extension and retraction of the sword. If the technique that Jang Baekseo had shown was to break the momentary flow that occurred at the moment of extension, Jang Yuhan was thrusting his form at the moment of extension and retraction to forcibly prevent the continuous connection from continuing.
Of course, this technique of exploiting the gap between extension and retraction would not work properly if the opponent was even a little over the second-rate, but what did it matter? The two who were fighting now were children who were not even third-rate.
Once the sword path began to be disturbed in that way, the Qingcheng disciple's hand became more and more confused, and on the contrary, Yuhan's sword became sharper and sharper.
As he gained more leeway, Yuhan began to use not only the Yuyu Sword but also the Mysterious Heaven Sword Technique, and as a result, the momentum of the fight completely shifted to Yuhan.
Soon, after not being able to withstand a few more exchanges, the Qingcheng disciple dropped his sword and fell.
A cheer erupted from the crowd who were watching the duel between the two young martial artists.
They had secretly disliked the boy from Qingcheng who was strutting around as if he were from a prestigious sect. But their cheers did not last long.
A man in the martial robes of Qingcheng, who looked to be about twenty, stepped onto the dueling stage.
"You brat!! What are you doing to Jeongho!?"
"Senior Brother Jeongpung!"
The man called Jeongpung by the Qingcheng boy, no, Jeongho, rushed to Jeongho and checked his body. There were no particular injuries, but his palm was torn from the impact of the wooden sword being knocked out of his hand, and his hand was trembling.
Seeing that, Jeongpung's face hardened, and he approached Yuhan.
"Did you do this?"
"It was a duel."
"I asked if you did this!!"
"Yes, I had a duel with your junior brother and won."
"You brat!!!!"
Slap!
Whether it was because he didn't like the fact that he didn't even blink an eye at his furious appearance, or because he was so angry that his junior brother had only torn his palm a little in a fair duel, Jeongpung slapped Yuhan's cheek.
Twelve years old and twenty. It was no different from the difference between a child and an adult.
Moreover, the difference in the physical abilities of the two who had learned martial arts was even greater.
Yuhan, who was slapped, was sent flying by Jeongpung and rolled on the floor. It was only after a long time after he stopped rolling that he could get up.
And it was at this time that Jang Baekseo discovered this.
Jang Baekseo's eyes flashed with fire after grasping the general situation from the words of the people around him and Yuhan's words.
'That bastard who deserves to be torn to shreds!! Not only did he interfere in a children's fight, but he also laid a hand on my junior brother!?'
He decided to listen to what kind of excuse the one called Jeongpung, who must have heard the situation from his junior brother as well, would make.
Of course, it would have to be something that Jang Baekseo could understand. Otherwise, that brat, whether he was Jeongpung or Heopung, would see hell.
That's how angry Jang Baekseo was right now.
He had hit him so hard that Yuhan's cheek was so swollen that he couldn't even open his eye on that side properly.
The swollen part was pressing on the eye area.
It was a miracle that his teeth weren't broken. An ordinary child would have fainted or cried and made a fuss, and it would not have been strange.
In the midst of that, when Jang Baekseo looked at his swollen cheek with worried eyes, Yuhan, as if he was so embarrassed, ducked his head and tried to cover his face somehow.
"I'm sorry, Senior Brother."
At that, Jang Baekseo completely lost it.
He was already angry, but when Yuhan apologized in embarrassment, he became so cold that it was as if ice water had been poured on his head, going beyond anger.
And whether he knew Jang Baekseo's thoughts or not…
"Ha! Mysterious Profound Sect!? Tsk! If you're a traitorous riffraff, you should know your place and avoid it. How dare you act so presumptuously towards a disciple of the great Qingcheng!?"
'Well, look at this?'
If he had bowed his head and apologized politely and had crushed the face of that arrogant brat named Jeongho twice as much as he had done to Yuhan, it would have been another story, but to come out like this…
Gwang Yuwon, the person from Qingcheng he had met on the way to the Geumjo Merchant Guild!
Jang Baekseo had many thoughts when he saw him.
First, he was surprised by his level. Jang Baekseo, who had reached the position of the Sword Demon in his life before regression, had looked into the process of the Demonic Cult conquering Sichuan in two years.
Simply put, he wanted to know the cause of his joining the Demonic Cult, and another thought was that he was purely interested as a martial artist in the two most intense years of the Righteous-Demonic War.
Those who did not know the detailed inside story would probably think that the most intense battle among the three provinces of Qinghai, Gansu, and Sichuan was in Sichuan.
That was because Qinghai and Gansu each had only one prestigious Orthodox Faction, the Kunlun Sect and the Kongtong Sect, but Sichuan had three prestigious Orthodox Faction sects: Qingcheng, Emei, and the Tang Clan…
But Jang Baekseo, who had looked at the records of the Righteous-Demonic War, knew.
At the beginning of the Righteous-Demonic War, the opponent that the Demonic Cult was most wary of and had thoroughly prepared for was Kunlun.
Kunlun was a long-standing prestigious sect and at the same time a place that could be called the birthplace of Daoist martial arts. Since it was located in Qinghai, right in front of Xinjiang, it had more experience in dealing with the Demonic Cult's martial arts than the other Nine Great Sects or the Seven Great Families, and was also more wary of the Demonic Cult.
In addition, what about the Kunlun branch, which had received the grace and teachings of Kunlun?
In fact, all the sects in Qinghai were like the limbs of Kunlun, so their power and unity were by no means to be taken lightly.
But the reason why Kunlun and Qinghai collapsed in an instant was simple.
The Demonic Cult was too strong.
It was just that simple and easy story.
In addition, at that time, since it was the beginning of the war, the front lines had not been expanded, so all the power of the Twelve Demonic Palaces, the top combat force of the Demonic Cult deployed in the war, was concentrated on Kunlun.
It was the same for the Kongtong Sect of Gansu. They had strong power and unity, but the unit of combat power was different to block it with just that. It was not for nothing that the martial world of the world, which repeatedly formed and broke alliances among themselves, united when the Righteous-Demonic War broke out.
Then what about Sichuan?
The front lines expanded, the Martial Alliance gathered the power of the martial artists of the Orthodox Faction of the world, and the three powers of Sichuan, which had always been at odds, joined forces, but even so, it was a hastily formed alliance.
Sichuan was conquered too easily.
Of course, Qingcheng Mountain, where the Qingcheng Sect was located, also became a sea of fire, and the Qingcheng Sect collapsed.
That's why Jang Baekseo was surprised when he saw Gwang Yuwon.
'To think that Qingcheng in my previous regression collapsed so easily even with such a person…'
In the Righteous-Demonic War of his previous regression that he had looked into, the actions of Qingcheng were too insignificant.
That's why he was surprised to see Gwang Yuwon, who was on the verge of the transcendent realm, on par with the Eighteen Stars of Demon Suppression, beyond the peak.
And now, Jang Baekseo was surprised in another sense.
'Even if it's a case of a tiger father having a dog son, the level of the three disciples of Qingcheng is serious.'
It was not a story about the high or low of their martial arts.
It was not a story about whether their character was good or bad, but a story about their dignity or formality.
Whether it was the personal thoughts of Jeongho and Jeongpung, or whether the entire Qingcheng was thinking that way, was not important at all. What was important was that they were shouting such frivolous and arrogant words loudly even in a place full of third parties like this.
In a word, they were emotional and had no thought for the future.
"I am Jang Baekseo, the senior disciple of the third generation of Mysterious Profound Sect. I ask, were the disciples of Qingcheng always so lacking in etiquette and propriety? Are you not ashamed?"
"Ha!? If it's shame, it's you Mysterious Profound Sect bastards, the cowardly traitors, who should feel it! Moreover, a disciple of the great Qingcheng losing to a traitor from Mysterious Profound Sect? It's impossible! That dirty brat who is your junior brother must have used a cowardly trick!"
Jang Baekseo's anger had now even faded. To be precise, he wondered what he was doing with such an idiot.
Emotional and no thought for the future. Well, it wasn't at that level, but wasn't this just a moron?
Even before his regression, Jang Baekseo had a loathing for the so-called Orthodox Faction, but this guy named Jeongpung was a moron of a level so low that he didn't even feel that loathing.
"My junior brother, Yuhan, is a child with one of the best talents in the sect. Don't you think it's too much to find the reason for his defeat in a trick, even if he is a disciple of Qingcheng?"
In fact, if he had his way, he would have thrown away all this empty formality and shot him with a string of curses mixed with 'this bastard' and 'that bastard,' but there were too many eyes watching, and the difference in their positions was too great to ignore.
That's why he was trying to suppress his boiling anger as much as possible and persuade him with nice words like this… Of course, he had no intention of just letting it go…
"Ha!? Talent? What kind of talent can there be in a third-rate sect like Mysterious Profound Sect!? The word 'talented' is only fitting for a child like my junior brother, Jeongho!"
At this point, he was speechless. It seemed that Jang Baekseo was not the only one who felt that way, as the people around him also frowned and whispered something to each other.
Of course, whispering or not, as he was contemplating whether to just smash him at this point, certain people came into Jang Baekseo's eyes.
'Oh, this is a perfect situation to screw him over.'
At this, Jang Baekseo lifted his head with a 'chak!' and shouted loudly.
"Isn't this too much! I didn't say anything about the fight between the children! No matter how much there is no play in the events of the martial world, what would children of only twelve years old know? So even if it was a word that insulted and slandered my sect, I thought of it as a child's mistake and let it go! But what about you! Not only did you interfere in a children's fight, persecute my junior brother, and use violence unilaterally, but now, instead of admitting your mistake, you are insulting my sect and slandering my junior brother unilaterally without any evidence!"
Jang Baekseo's voice was so loud that even the people who were far from the dueling stage began to gather, wondering what was going on.
As Jeongpung thought that this flow was not good and was about to open his mouth, Jang Baekseo struck first.
"No matter how much Qingcheng is a prestigious sect belonging to the Nine Great Sects and has great influence in Sichuan, you cannot persecute a sect belonging to the Emei branch so unilaterally!! Moreover, this is a place to celebrate the sixtieth birthday of the master of the Geumjo Merchant Guild, Lord Geum Gadong! Are you not ashamed that a disciple of Qingcheng is acting so tyrannically in a place where not only Qingcheng but also Emei and the Tang Clan, and other famous sects of Sichuan have gathered to celebrate this!?"
Jang Baekseo implicitly emphasized that his sect, Mysterious Profound Sect, belonged to the Emei branch, and at the same time, he emphasized that not only Qingcheng but also other prestigious Orthodox Faction sects, Emei and the Tang Clan, were also here.
He had cast the bait. And…
"Ha!? Emei? Tang Clan? What does that have to do with anything? This is a Qingcheng event held by the great Qingcheng! Who in Sichuan can interfere with a Qingcheng event without knowing their place!?"
'…I thought he was a madman, but this is beyond imagination…'
Even with his words and actions so far, he had thought he was not a normal person, but Jang Baekseo, who had not thought he was this crazy, was dumbfounded… and then he grinned.
"I can't just let that last remark pass, benefactor."
"Indeed. Even if he is a third-generation disciple who has just passed twenty, his outrageous remarks are too much to let pass."
Parting the gathered crowd, two women walked towards the dueling stage.
(End of Chapter)