Chapter 28 : The Qingcheng Branch Meeting
At the end of a long, if long, and short, if short, journey, Jang Baekseo's party was finally able to arrive at Mount Qingcheng, where the Qingcheng Sect was located.
Mount Qingcheng was already teeming with people who had gathered for this Qingcheng branch meeting.
From the sects participating in the Qingcheng branch meeting, to the merchants who were trying to do some business by taking advantage of this atmosphere, and even the low-level sects or martial arts schools who were trying to get a foothold in the Qingcheng branch meeting by taking this opportunity.
The vast Mount Qingcheng was bustling like a marketplace due to the countless crowd.
Mount Qingcheng, which had been teeming with people, became quiet for a moment when Jang Baekseo's party appeared.
It was because Grandmaster Gwangha had already spread the rumor.
The story that Mysterious Profound Sect, which had moved its registration to the Emei branch in the past, had returned to the Qingcheng branch!
"This doesn't feel very good…"
"…Hoo, I should have come a little earlier…"
The murmuring and whispering of the people around them was that much unpleasant and blatant.
"What does it matter~ enjoy the people's attention, both of you!"
Although Cheong Yeonah was trying to say that, her expression was not very good either.
As if Cheongdo felt the same way, he looked around anxiously.
The only one who was calm here was Ju Yeongchan.
"Don't look around. If you are a disciple of Mysterious Profound Sect, walk with your chest held high, with pride in that name!"
'Ho ho~ this old man, he's a man with more spirit than I thought.'
Jang Baekseo was about to revise his evaluation of Ju Yeongchan upward in his heart.
Tremble, tremble!
If he hadn't seen Ju Yeongchan's legs trembling like an aspen tree!
"…Still, it's something that he says such things."
Although he hadn't said a word, Jang Baekseo, who had accurately read Cheongmu's thoughts, let out a deep sigh and nodded his head.
Thus, Jang Baekseo's party entered Qingcheng, surrounded by silence and whispers.
Without being able to predict in the slightest what would happen here in the future…
***
Although it could be known just from its appearance, the Daoist temple of Qingcheng was so splendid and magnificent that the name 'Daoist temple' was put to shame.
Mysterious Profound Sect, of course, could not be compared, and Jang Baekseo was able to roughly deduce what kind of atmosphere the current Qingcheng had from the splendid interior that would not lose to the Geumjo Merchant Guild.
'The name 'Daoist sect' will cry…'
As soon as Jang Baekseo had that thought, scenes that would make the name 'Daoist sect' cry were noticeable in various places in the Daoist temple of Qingcheng.
"Ho ho~! Grandmaster~ you're so cool!"
"Hahaha! You praise me too much, Young Lady! How can I compare to your beauty?"
At the love affair between the young disciples of Qingcheng and the female disciples who had come for the Qingcheng branch meeting, Jang Baekseo's face went beyond frowning to being grotesquely contorted.
"Wasn't this a Daoist temple?"
"…I heard they were secularizing, but I didn't expect it to be this much…"
Even the always calm Cheongmu was so flustered that the secularization of Qingcheng was astonishing.
No matter how much the Qingcheng branch meeting had not yet begun, and the atmosphere was close to a festival or a party, it was a scene that was hard to believe was happening in Qingcheng, a corner of the Nine Great Sects, where the key members of each sect participating in the Qingcheng branch meeting and the key members of Qingcheng were setting up a table and drinking alcohol in various places in the Daoist temple, or where the young disciples of Qingcheng and the female disciples of the sects participating in the branch were rubbing against each other and having a love affair like the man and woman from before.
"…No matter how much I think about it, I think Grandmaster Gwangha has something more to worry about than the third power or whatever…"
At these words, not only Cheongmu, but also Cheong Yeonah and Cheongdo, and even Ju Yeongchan, who should have warned against the careless remark as the eldest, could not say a word.
***
Thus, after writing in the guest book at the mountain gate of Qingcheng and being guided to their quarters, the first thing Jang Baekseo's party did was to change into clean clothes and go around greeting the other sects participating in the Qingcheng branch meeting.
"We'll be eating from the same pot in the future, so please take good care of us."
"…We will do so…"
Although they had greeted more than ten sects, all the people they had met so far had been extremely cold in their reactions.
"Hoo~ I expected the reaction to be bad, but it's not comfortable to be so consistently cold."
Ju Yeongchan, who had received the cold shoulder more than ten times just now, touched the bridge of his nose as if his eyes were stinging.
"…I'm sorry, elder. If our master hadn't used such a reckless move…"
"No, no. If a master takes the blame for his disciple's fault, that's one thing, but how can you ask a disciple for a master's mistake?"
The one who had this conversation with Ju Yeongchan was Myeonggwang, a disciple of Grandmaster Gwangha and a first-generation disciple of Qingcheng.
Myeonggwang was a helper that Grandmaster Gwangha had attached to the party to make things easier.
To such a helper, openly…
'Because of what your master did, I'm suffering like this.'
…The things that Ju Yeongchan had experienced so far were so terrible that he had to say such things in a roundabout way.
Avoiding them with a blatantly uncomfortable look and a cold attitude, like before, was a very good response.
In severe cases, right in front of Ju Yeongchan's face…
'Ho ho! What a thick face you have? How can you walk around so brazenly? If it were me, I would have been so ashamed that I would have buried my face in a plate of water and died!'
From the person who gave him a scolding…
'By any chance, is there anyone with the surname Pyeon among Ju Yeongchan-gong's fathers? No? You say there isn't? Ho ho! It's truly amazing. But it's just marvelous how you can act like a pyeonbok (bat).'
Hearing all sorts of insults like that, even Jang Baekseo, who had not looked favorably on Ju Yeongchan, felt a little sorry for him.
'…Tsk! Still, since he's an elder of the sect, I have no choice but to help him a little…'
Thinking that, Jang Baekseo spoke to Ju Yeongchan.
Ju Yeongchan's face brightened at Jang Baekseo's proposal.
"Oh ho! That's a really good method! Ho ho! As expected of the senior brother of the third generation! I'm so proud of you, so proud!"
"…"
Although he had expected him to be happy, seeing Ju Yeongchan, who was a little more happy than he had expected, Jang Baekseo felt even more sorry for him.
***
"Greetings. I am Ju Yeongchan, the acting Sect Leader of Mysterious Profound Sect, who will be a new member of the Qingcheng branch in the future."
"Haha! Since Mysterious Profound Sect has newly become a member of the Qingcheng branch, how can this not be a great fortune for Qingcheng? Don't you think so too, Great Hero Doyung?"
The man called Doyung by Myeonggwang, Doyung, the acting Sect Leader of the Azure Sword Sect, which belonged to the Qingcheng branch, looked back and forth between Myeonggwang and Ju Yeongchan with a reluctant face.
Ignoring Doyung, who was clearly saying 'I'm not very keen on this…' with his face, Ju Yeongchan hurriedly continued.
"Ah! While we're at it, it would be good for the senior disciple of our sect's third generation to greet you as well. Baekseo, come here."
"No, there's no need for that… huh!?"
Doyung, who was about to stop Ju Yeongchan's action while openly showing his displeasure, was almost surprised and fell down when he saw the boy who was approaching at Ju Yeongchan's call.
The boy called Baekseo was just an ordinary child with a good physique for his young face.
But the closer he got, the more Doyung realized that that was not the case.
'How can a boy who is not even of age yet be at the second-rate level!?'
That's right. The level of the young boy called Baekseo was too outstanding for his age.
"H-how old is the senior disciple, may I ask?"
At Doyung's action of stuttering and asking without realizing it, Ju Yeongchan smiled triumphantly.
'It's working well!!'
"Ho ho, he is fourteen, not yet past the age of learning."
"F-fourteen!? How can he be at that level at such a young age…"
At Doyung's flustered muttering, Jang Baekseo answered in a timely manner.
"What skill do I have to be able to reach the second-rate level? This is all thanks to the excellent guidance of my masters. That's because the training of the sect is…"
"Ahem! Baekseo! Don't you know that you shouldn't speak so easily about the training of the sect?"
"Oh! I've been rude… I'm sorry, Senior Granduncle."
At Jang Baekseo's appearance, the one who was anxious was Doyung.
Although the second-rate level was insignificant in the entire martial world, it was a truly great achievement if it was limited to a small to medium-sized sect, and moreover, before the age of twenty.
The root of all martial sects was, after all, the young disciples. In dividing the superiority and inferiority of sects, some divided it by the number of masters, and some by the number of disciples, but those who truly understood the physiology of the world of the martial world knew well that the level of education of the young disciples was the number one contributor to dividing the superiority and inferiority of martial sects.
As such, of course, the small to medium-sized sects had no choice but to have a poorer method of education for their young disciples compared to the prestigious sects, and these methods of education were, in a way, considered more important than the secret techniques or secret martial arts of the sect.
So Doyung had no choice but to be anxious.
The educational method of Mysterious Profound Sect, which had made a boy who was not even of age yet reach the second-rate level!
Doyung hurriedly changed his attitude to get even a glimpse of it.
From his previous attitude of openly shunning them, his title had now changed to 'Great Hero'.
Ju Yeongchan, who seemed to like that change, was dealing with him with a smile from beginning to end.
Although Jang Baekseo thought it was a little troublesome, he thought it was better for him to go through a little trouble and be treated well than for the elder of the sect to be treated coldly.
After finishing his greetings with Doyung and Ju Yeongchan returned, Jang Baekseo asked.
"Senior Granduncle, how many more people do we have to meet?"
"Hmm, well. If we exclude the nameless side sects, then probably about…"
"About…?"
"A hundred… a little over a hundred."
"…?"
"?"
"A hundred… you say?"
"A hundred… I say."
Looking at Ju Yeongchan, who was calmly repeating the word 'a hundred', Jang Baekseo felt as if his vision was turning white.
'I underestimated Qingcheng too much!!'
Jang Baekseo had thought that it would be over after meeting a dozen more people at most, but that was a huge miscalculation.
In fact, among the sects of a certain level located in Sichuan, most of them belonged to either the Emei or Qingcheng branch.
This meant that, in fact, except for the sects belonging to the Emei branch or the sects belonging to the Tang Clan's sphere of influence, all the sects of a certain level in Sichuan belonged to the Qingcheng branch.
In addition, since Qingcheng was aggressively expanding its power and accepting people from the secular world these days, the number of sects participating in this branch meeting was beyond imagination.
Not knowing that, Jang Baekseo, who had decided to help Ju Yeongchan with a light heart, saying 'What's the big deal, I'll just act once!', was now on the verge of dying.
'This is the seventieth… f*ck, I don't know…'
Jang Baekseo, who had met and met and met people for a long~ time and had repeated the same words, finally learned from Ju Yeongchan's words that this was the last one.
"I have to go say my last greetings…"
But Ju Yeongchan's expression as he said that was not very good.
No, it was beyond not good, it looked quite unpleasant.
'Who is the opponent that he is so openly unpleasant?'
(End of Chapter)