Chapter 164 : Chapter 164
Chapter 164 - This must be karma
Should he call it a relief?
Horrible words like ‘Did someone threaten you with a knife?’ did not come out of Elder Mayeon’s mouth.
However, Elder Yubeop almost ended up punching Elder Mayeon in the face.
He thought he knew him well enough after eating from the same pot for decades, but he never imagined he would be backstabbed like this.
“We must provide the Great Dragon Supplement Pill to the remaining One Heart, One Path disciples.”
“…………!”
The reason Elder Yubeop didn’t punch Mayeon in the face.
It wasn't because of his injury.
It was because at the end of the True Dragon Eight Swords seated on either side, the head of the sect was sitting.
“The Great Dragon Supplement Pill, you say?”
He was a middle-aged man to whom the word ‘truly high-class’ seemed to fit perfectly.
His skin, belying his age, was full of luster, and his eyebrows and nose, set as if in a mold, were extremely sharp.
Especially, the large earlobes on both sides were a physiognomic feature one might see on a great merchant of a region.
The Sect Leader of the True Dragon Sect, Jin Yong-cheon.
His sharp gaze was directed at Elder Mayeon.
“As I understand it, it is not yet time to decide on the Great Dragon Supplement Pills……”
Although he could speak down to them, Jin Yong-cheon showed them a certain level of respect, perhaps due to the age difference with the elders.
“I am well aware of that. However, the matter is progressing too rapidly. Would it not be foolish to invest in a lottery ticket that has already been determined to be a loser?”
“A lottery ticket that has already been scratched……”
Jin Yong-cheon smacked his lips as if his mind was complicated.
The disciples of One Heart, One Path.
They were already being provided with sufficient elixirs.
However, there was an elixir that even those third-generation disciples were eagerly awaiting, and that was the Great Dragon Supplement Pill.
It was a divine medicine among divine medicines, of which even the True Dragon Sect, which prided itself on its wealth of material goods, could only purchase three per generation.
‘He who obtains the Great Dragon Supplement Pill can leap over ten years of time.’
It was a story that anyone who wielded a sword in the True Dragon Sect had heard at least once.
Ten years, a period in which mountains and rivers are said to change.
The internal energy granted by the Great Dragon Supplement Pill was truly immense, enough to shorten that long period of time at once.
An elixir that even the disciples of One Heart, One Path, who were granted all privileges, desperately wanted.
It went without saying that caution was needed in selecting the recipients.
Tremble tremble.
Yubeop, who was hanging his head on one side, had his cheeks shaking violently.
He was already a sinner before the Sect Leader, so he couldn't speak carelessly.
But if he stayed like this, he was about to have the Great Dragon Supplement Pill snatched away right before his eyes.
‘I can’t let that happen…… that Great Dragon Supplement Pill is……!’
His direct disciple.
It must belong to Cheongjin.
The distribution of the Great Dragon Supplement Pill is decided when all the third-generation disciples have completed five years of training.
The eight disciples duel each other, and the top three receive the elixir.
As can be seen from the age of the youngest, Yongjin, the final duel of the third-generation disciples will take place in at least a year.
But Mayeon was suddenly saying that the distribution of the Great Dragon Supplement Pill should be moved up.
And not just that, but right now.
“It is as clear as day that the reputation of the True Dragon Sect will be tarnished in the future. If the duel had been held unofficially, it would be a different matter, but it is said that not only the prominent merchants of Yiliang County but also a monk from Shaolin were present at the scene. In the worst case, they might even restrict the number of participants from the True Dragon Sect before the martial arts tournament.”
“So, you’re saying we should scratch the lottery ticket right now? To achieve results in the upcoming martial arts tournament?”
“It would be better than the children whose chances have already become slim.”
“Hmm……”
Jin Yong-cheon rested his chin on his hand and fell into thought.
At a glance, it seemed like an ordinary deliberation, but no one opened their mouths to intervene.
Jin Yong-cheon was a man who pretended to be polite in front but did a sword dance behind people’s backs.
Crossing his legs like that was also a posture he didn't take unless he was considerably angry.
A thunderbolt soon fell on Elder Yubeop, who was anxiously watching.
“Let’s do that.”
“…………S-Sect Lead……!!”
Yubeop couldn’t hold back and opened his mouth, but his body soon froze like ice.
In the eyes of the gentlemanly and elegant Jin Yong-cheon, a flame that could swallow Mount Tai was flickering.
“Shut that mouth.”
“…………I apologize.”
The time for deliberation was long, but the subsequent actions were extremely swift.
“As of today, the One Heart, One Path status of the third-generation disciples who went to the Diancang Sect is suspended. They will have to train on an equal footing with the other third-generation disciples and be re-evaluated. Also, the Great Dragon Supplement Pill will be distributed to the remaining three One Heart, One Path disciples tomorrow morning.”
“As you command.”
Once Jin Yong-cheon made a decision, he wouldn't reverse it even if the heavens fell.
The five elders who instantly had their disciples become ordinary had ashen faces, and the two elders who had gotten a windfall thanks to Mayeon had to do their best to manage their expressions.
And Elder Mayeon…….
‘I don’t know whether to be angry or grateful.’
He was thinking of a man with a handsome smile.
***
“A next-generation disciple of the Diancang Sect defeated Elder Yubeop?”
Great Master Nanbyeol Deokdam.
It was a moniker given to the Abbot because it was difficult to grasp what he was thinking or what emotions he was feeling.
But at this moment, Gye-yeong could guess what emotion Deokdam was feeling.
Amazement.
Although he wasn't showing it at all, if one didn't feel surprised after hearing this story, they must be a person without any emotions.
“That is correct.”
“It’s an unbelievable story. For a next-generation disciple to defeat an elder-level figure of the True Dragon Sect……”
It was something that would astound anyone from any sect, not just Diancang.
Was a next-generation disciple called a next-generation disciple for nothing?
They were called unfinished great talents because not only their swordsmanship but also their internal energy was not yet complete.
But to defeat an elder who was evaluated as having nothing more to polish.
For the first time in a long while, Deokdam felt a strong curiosity.
‘I’m really curious. Who on earth is this person called Young Hero Biyoung…….’
He had been quite shocked when he first received the report about the duel between the next-generation disciples.
A duel between a rising rookie of the Nine Sects One Union and a fallen sect that had lost its main base to mountain bandits.
No matter how much it was a fight between promising talents and not the main force, it was a definite upset.
But the astonishing story came after that.
For a swordsman not yet twenty to defeat an elder of another sect.
“Abbot. Perhaps that person named Biyoung is already……”
“Ahem. Do not jump to conclusions.”
At the Abbot’s reprimand, Gye-yeong bowed his head.
However, the fact that he cut off Gye-yeong’s words was proof that Deokdam was thinking the same thing.
The thought that ‘Biyoung may have already surpassed all the swordsmen of the True Dragon Sect.’
Of course, the True Dragon Sect had seven other elders.
In fact, in public evaluation, Yubeop ranked among the lower tier of elders.
But.
What did that matter?
Yubeop had not engaged in a fierce struggle with Biyoung.
He had suffered a one-sided defeat.
According to Gye-yeong, after the duel ended, not a single wound was visible on Biyoung.
That meant he was a master a level above Elder Yubeop.
Could the other elders of the True Dragon Eight Swords produce the same result when facing Yubeop?
‘It would be hard to say for sure.’
The Abbot of Shaolin, Deokdam, pictured Jin Yong-cheon’s face in his mind.
He was a figure who seemed more suited to be the owner of a wealthy merchant house or a member of the imperial family rather than the leader of a martial sect.
He, who was once at the center of a new wave, was now in a position to face a new current.
And the current that had swallowed the True Dragon Sect would not stop its momentum and would rush all the way here, to Mount Song.
“Amitabha.”
The emergence of a new force ignites a fiery romance in people’s hearts.
However, what settled in Deokdam’s heart was only anxiety, worry, and guilt.
Until now, the story of the Diancang Sect had been merely local news confined to Yunnan.
But now, the Diancang Sect was clearly preparing for a reunion with the Nine Sects One Union, that is, the Murim Alliance.
‘This is karma. Karma indeed.’
Deokdam let out a low sigh and turned his head outside.
“Is Goeng-yul outside?”
“I will call him.”
Gye-yeong, having finished his mission, went outside, and a monk with a rather irritable appearance for a monk carefully entered the room.
Goeng-yul was a middle-aged man with fine wrinkles around his eyes, who was in charge of administration within Shaolin.
“Abbot. You called for me.”
“Where is the lodging for the Diancang Sect?”
“It is the Yiho Pavilion in the In Quarters.”
“Is there any space left in the Chuk Quarters?”
“I will have to check, but…… if the number of people is less than ten, there should be one room left.”
“Then change the Diancang Sect’s lodging to the Chuk Quarters.”
“Yes.”
Goeng-yul’s eyebrow twitched for a moment, but he soon bowed his head and left the room.
“Is something happening in Yunnan……?”
Goeng-yul’s sharp eyes turned towards the Abbot’s quarters.
The martial arts tournament was a massive event where not only the Nine Sects One Union but also the Five Great Families and the promising talents of small and medium-sized sects gathered.
As such, an innumerable number of people gathered on Mount Song.
It might be a festival for the participants, but for Goeng-yul who managed it, it was a period akin to a disaster.
The number of people who would eat and sleep on Mount Song would exceed hundreds and reach the thousands.
Goeng-yul had to plan the lodgings for the martial artists first.
After dividing a large area into four directions, he organized the Ja Quarters, Chuk Quarters, In Quarters, and Myo Quarters in the order of the twelve zodiac signs.
Among them, the groups with great fame and power were assigned to the Ja Quarters, followed by the Chuk Quarters, and then the In and Myo Quarters.
Naturally, the next-generation disciples of the Nine Sects One Union were assigned to the Ja Quarters according to their rank.
The fact that there were several lodgings in one quarter gave a glimpse of how large the overall scale was.
‘To change the In Quarters to the Chuk Quarters…….’
That was a clear improvement in treatment.
The In Quarters, though not at the level of the Nine Sects One Union, was the lodging where the children of prestigious families in the Central Plains stayed.
He didn't know what had happened on Diancang Mountain, but the Abbot had changed the Diancang Sect's lodging to a better place.
Of all times.
At this time, with only a few days left before the tournament.
“Hmm.”
Goeng-yul hummed lowly and walked towards the lodgings where the martial artists would stay.
He was indeed a suitable person to be in charge of the administration of the vast Shaolin.
In the most remote corner of the Chuk Quarters, there were two spacious rooms left without name tags attached.
Goeng-yul wrote the name of the Diancang Sect on a small piece of paper and placed it in front of the two rooms.
“I have experienced large and small events, but this is the first time I've seen a case like this.”
Cases of new forces rising rapidly had happened last year and many times before that.
But this measure was completely different from the past.
What was making the Abbot’s heart so anxious?
Faced with a long-unseen dilemma, Goeng-yul quietly chanted a Buddhist invocation.
***
“Anyone want to go with me?”
At Biyoung’s words, everyone’s eyes sparkled.
Some even craned their necks and made desperate expressions.
“Hoooh. Why is the reaction so different from before?”
It was only natural.
Usually, going with Biyoung meant being worked like a dog under the pretext of training, but this time, it was worth enduring that.
The next-generation disciples’ martial arts tournament.
For the swordsmen of the Diancang Sect, whose skills were improving day by day, there was no more heart-pounding opportunity than this.
“Me!”
Hyeokri Hong raised her hand without hesitation.
“I want to go too!”
Next, Uma shouted, and Solbo and the Jeong-i also raised their hands.
“These guys……”
Eung Gajin, who had been watching silently, shot a glare at the next-generation disciples.
“If everyone goes to the martial arts tournament, who will protect the main sect? Mount Song is much farther than the Changsha region we invaded. We’ll have to be away for at least a few weeks. What if you get so caught up in gaining public attention and fame that you neglect the most important thing?”
Biyoung’s gentle voice was heard.
“Senior Brother Eung Gajin.”
“What.”
“Then why is your hand raised?”
“!”
The next-generation disciples, who had been scratching their heads awkwardly, suddenly glared at Eung Gajin with dagger-like eyes.
Indeed, at some point, Eung Gajin was also holding up one hand in an awkward posture.
“No…… why is this hand here……”
An utterly pathetic excuse.
But even so, Eung Gajin did not lower his arm.
‘And that thing is our eldest brother.’
‘If only he couldn’t talk.’
‘When did his face get so shameless?’
Judging by the murderous glares of the next-generation disciples, it seemed everyone sincerely wanted to go.
However, as Eung Gajin said, they must leave behind personnel to protect the main sect.
That was why they had gone through so much hardship to raise the next-generation disciples.
“I’ve been entrusted with this by the Sect Leader, so don’t question my decision.”
Biyoung looked around once and smirked.
“The list of participants for the martial arts tournament is……”