Chapter 159 : Who Should One Follow? -04
Chapter 159: Who Should One Follow? -04
Peng Mancheol’s voice gradually rose.
Though it was not an apology directed at him, it was just as satisfying.
In a way, their pride had been thoroughly crushed, and Peng Mancheol pounded the table as if he would shatter it.
“You seem to like it even more than I do.”
“Ahem! The truth is, I didn’t like it either. If you’re going to keep someone in check, there’s a limit.”
Peng Mancheol swept his gaze once more over those who had come.
At once, they subtly avoided his eyes.
They could not bring themselves to meet his gaze, knowing full well what they had done.
‘As expected, my choice wasn’t wrong.’
Meanwhile, Sama Uiseong, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, let his eyes gleam.
Looking at the current situation, he felt once more that his decision had not been mistaken.
When he had first arrived at the Mount Hua Sect, Ban Hojin had been famous, yes, but his presence had not been particularly overwhelming.
But as of yesterday, everything had changed.
Even now, those who had once looked down on Ban Hojin had come first, lowering themselves and offering apologies.
And the Ten Great Masters Under Heaven, the Yama King and the Blade King, were relying on Ban Hojin.
‘Now I just have to do well.’
Sama Uiseong swallowed.
Unlike yesterday, many had chosen this side, and he needed to live up to their expectations.
It was a burden, yet at the same time, it filled him with joy.
He would be able to make the name of Sama known in Murim once again.
‘It’s starting again. I can do this.’
Sama Uiseong had lived until now as if walking alone through a long, deep cave without a single ray of light.
Holding onto one goal alone—to rebuild the Sama Family someday.
And now that dream was just beginning.
His heart pounded.
Thud. Thud.
At that moment, heavy footsteps sounded from outside the large tent.
The footsteps were loud, as if the person intended to make their presence known, and Sama Uiseong snapped back to his senses.
Yet the atmosphere was strange.
Only the sound of footsteps could be heard, and yet everyone seemed to know who had arrived.
“There’s nothing to be surprised about. It’s not an enemy.”
“Ah, yes.”
“And I’m right here beside you, aren’t I?”
“Yes!”
Perhaps his expression had shown how startled he was, for Ban Hojin grinned and spoke.
Strangely enough, the moment he saw that smile, Sama Uiseong felt at ease.
As if by magic.
Swish.
Soon, the entrance flap of the large tent was drawn aside, and a middle-aged man revealed himself.
He was a middle-aged man with streaks of gray in his hair, and upon seeing him, Sama Uiseong and the others widened their eyes.
It was someone they had never expected to visit.
“What brings you here?”
“It’s not as though I’ve come somewhere I’m forbidden.”
Even at Peng Mancheol’s sharp remark, the visitor did not shrink back in the slightest.
Rather, with a fierce gaze, he looked around at everyone present, beginning with Peng Mancheol.
As though he intended to remember each and every one of them.
Under that savage stare, most of the leaders turned their heads away.
“It’s not a place you’re forbidden from coming to, but it’s not exactly somewhere you can visit comfortably either.”
“So you’ve completely thrown in with that brat?”
“Is there such a terrifying brat?”
At Ilwoo’s provocation, Peng Mancheol snorted.
To call him a brat was absurdly inaccurate—he was far too frightening for that.
Ilwoo had not seen it, having rushed off alone to capture the Lord of the Ironblood Fortress and ending up facing two Great War Gods, but Peng Mancheol had.
He had personally witnessed how Ban Hojin dealt with the Mad Wolf.
Staring at Ilwoo as though he were ridiculous, Peng Mancheol scoffed.
“Ha! Terrifying?”
“Have you not heard anything from your senior and junior brothers?”
At the unexpected reaction, Peng Mancheol tilted his head.
If Ilwoo truly knew of Ban Hojin’s skill, such a reaction would have been impossible.
In fact, he would never have come here in the first place.
“I heard. That you coldly refused the pleas of your junior brothers who asked for help.”
“You only heard what you needed to hear.”
“What did you just say?”
“I said you live quite comfortably. It seems you only hear what you want to hear. And even if your mouth is twisted, you should at least speak straight. Who was it that completely disregarded someone who came to help first?”
“I never disregarded anyone.”
Ilwoo said firmly.
As though he truly believed that.
Yet soft snickers rose from here and there.
Namgung Ho openly snorted.
“Well, I suppose you could see it that way. Maybe it was. It’s not like I know every detail of the Mount Hua Sect’s internal affairs. So have you come to argue about what happened yesterday?”
“That, and to give an order.”
“An order?”
Swish.
Ilwoo did not answer Peng Mancheol.
Instead, he fixed Ban Hojin with a cold gaze and spoke.
“I will not question what happened yesterday. Instead, fight under me.”
“Puhahaha!”
As Ilwoo spoke as though he were granting a great favor, Peng Mancheol burst into loud laughter.
He had never imagined Ilwoo would attempt to use Ban Hojin in such a manner.
The sheer audacity of the method left Peng Mancheol laughing until his face turned red.
“I refuse.”
“…What?”
“I said I refuse. Why should I do that?”
“Then you are saying you will accept punishment?”
“I did nothing wrong. Why would I be punished?”
Ban Hojin looked utterly dumbfounded.
He had never heard such absurd nonsense in his life.
And the fact that it had come from the Mount Hua Sect Leader astonished him once more.
“You did nothing wrong?”
“Was there some obligation for me to help? To risk my life for it? Then let me ask you this. If I were to fall into danger during the war, would you come to save me without fail?”
“….”
Ilwoo bit his lower lip.
It sounded like sophistry, yet he could not answer easily.
The moment he declared that he would, he would truly be bound to it.
“And didn’t you tell me yourself that you would handle things properly? Coming at me like this now is rather laughable.”
“Are you truly going to come at me in this manner?”
“In this manner? I have only stated the facts as they are.”
Kwaaaah!
At the sight of Ban Hojin talking back so brazenly when he should have been obediently following orders, Ilwoo finally exploded.
With eyes blazing with fury, he glared at Ban Hojin and released his Pressure of Qi.
It was directed solely at Ban Hojin.
With the Yama King, the Blade King, and Sang Il-gi—an Absolute Master Level expert comparable to the other two—present, Ilwoo opened his Pressure of Qi so that only Ban Hojin could feel it, avoiding interference from the three.
“Hmm.”
Unfortunately, Ilwoo’s scheme did not work.
With skill of that level, he could not exert even the slightest influence on Ban Hojin.
That was precisely why Sang Il-gi, Namgung Ho, and Peng Mancheol remained still.
Rather, Ban Hojin paid no mind to whether Ilwoo was exerting force or not and sank into his own thoughts.
‘How should I make use of this situation?’
He already knew well enough about Ilwoo’s self-centered nature.
Though it was their first meeting in this life, they had crossed paths several times in his previous one.
Not long after the war broke out, Ilwoo had died.
The ironic part was that it had been the Lord of the Ironblood Fortress who killed him.
Of course, he had not fought the Lord of the Ironblood Fortress directly.
He had been captured while fighting the Great War Gods, and the Lord of the Ironblood Fortress had beheaded him.
‘It would be a waste to discard such strength as it is.’
Though his personality was flawed, Ilwoo was undeniably one of the Ten Great Masters Under Heaven.
He lacked magnanimity, but his skill was unquestionable.
It was only that his temperament was excessively narrow-minded, which gave rise to many complaints.
Still, if used well, he would certainly be a fine card to play.
‘Then there is only one method.’
Even though he had lost his left arm, the Blade King was still the Blade King.
Once he adapted to his current physical condition, he would quickly recover the level of skill he had possessed in his prime.
Thus, Ban Hojin made his decision.
Riiip!
“Gasp!”
With the sound of silk being torn apart, Ilwoo was startled.
Ban Hojin had split apart his Pressure of Qi with absurd ease.
He had heard that Ban Hojin was no ordinary man, but he had not imagined this level.
An expression of disbelief spread across Ilwoo’s face.
“It seems we need a private conversation, Sect Leader.”
“As expected, he’s charging straight in.”
Watching Ban Hojin rise from his seat, Peng Mancheol snickered.
Just as he had anticipated.
Ilwoo might have believed he was pressuring Ban Hojin in secret, but that was far from the truth.
Sang Il-gi and Namgung Ho had felt it as well—they simply had not reacted.
“If you are afraid, there is nothing I can do.”
“What nonsense is that!”
“Then come.”
Ban Hojin strode forward first.
Ilwoo immediately followed.
“Is it truly safe to let the two of them go alone?”
“Shouldn’t at least one of us follow?”
As Ban Hojin and Ilwoo left the large tent in an instant, several of the leaders cautiously spoke up.
To them, the three men seemed far too indifferent.
They could understand Namgung Ho or Peng Mancheol behaving so, but even Sang Il-gi showed no sign of following, which left them puzzled.
“Why?”
“It looks as though they’re about to clash blades. Isn’t that dangerous?”
“Who? Hojin?”
“Yes.”
“Puhahaha!”
Peng Mancheol clutched his stomach and laughed.
He found it genuinely hilarious.
Namgung Ho was no different.
As he continued to chuckle under his breath, the leaders who had attended for the first time all wore bewildered expressions.
“You’re not worried?”
“Worried? Who should be worried about whom? The one we should worry about isn’t Hojin—it’s the Blade King. Even with a whole body, the outcome wouldn’t be certain. Now he’s even lost his left arm. If they fight now, a hundred times out of a hundred, the Blade King loses. The Mad Wolf may have been among the weaker Great War Gods, but Hojin disposed of him lightly without a single scratch. Hojin is an opponent even I—and the Namgung Family Head—cannot confidently claim victory against.”
Gulp.
They had known he was strong, but hearing Peng Mancheol speak so plainly made them realize just how profound Ban Hojin’s Martial Realm truly was.
Even Namgung Ho, known for being colder than anyone when it came to right and wrong, nodded in agreement.
Everyone swallowed dryly.
“So we simply do what we must. At the very least, we should repay what we’ve suffered. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“That’s correct.”
“Let Hojin handle the Blade King. We’ll continue our meeting.”
At Peng Mancheol’s words, Sama Uiseong responded respectfully.
Then, as instructed, they resumed their discussion on how to wage the coming battle.
Unlike before, confidence now colored their voices.
Seo Jo-woon and the others watched with pleased expressions.
“Let’s stop here. There’s no need to go any farther.”
After leaving the encampment and heading slightly south, Ban Hojin turned around.
Before him stood Ilwoo, no longer concealing his ominous aura.
“Are you leaving room for retreat?”
Ilwoo smiled coldly.
As though he understood why this place, so close to the encampment, had been chosen.
Ban Hojin, however, paid him no mind.
“Not at all. People may not realize it, but I am rather respectful toward my elders. Moreover, you are injured, are you not? I am not so lacking in sense as to bully a wounded man.”
“Hah!”
Seeing Ban Hojin blatantly glance at the left shoulder wrapped thickly in bandages, Ilwoo’s eyes flared.
He glared at him as if he wished to kill him.
Yet instead of responding in kind, Ban Hojin folded his arms.
“So there is no need for concern. I have no intention of directly swinging my sword.”
“You are saying you wish to compete with me in Sword Momentum?”
“Yes.”
Ilwoo’s expression turned incredulous.
He was in a severely injured state.
Even his Inner Energy was unstable.
Yet he was the Blade King and the Sect Leader of the Mount Hua Sect.
Thus, Ban Hojin’s words were not consideration—they were humiliation.
And that struck deeply at Ilwoo’s pride.
“I had heard you were arrogant, but I never imagined it was to this extent.”
“To hear such words from a Sect Leader…”
Ilwoo’s voice dripped with fury, yet Ban Hojin was startled for a different reason.
To hear Ilwoo—famous for his own arrogance—call him arrogant was beyond absurd.