Chapter 177 : Rising Power. -04
Chapter 177: Rising Power. -04
No sooner had Peng Mancheol finished speaking than dry coughs filled with blatant discomfort were heard from various places.
It was clear that quite a few did not welcome Ban Hojin’s sudden rise.
On the other hand, there were also many who looked at Damhyeon with curious eyes.
“Hur. It seems there are quite a few who find this hard to accept?”
At the deliberate coughing, Peng Mancheol grinned and swept his gaze over the assembly.
However, his eyes, as they looked toward those who had coughed, were not smiling at all.
“If there are those who find it difficult to acknowledge, would it not be best to ask Sect Leader Ilwoo directly?”
Namgung Ho opened his mouth in a tone entirely different from the one he had used with Damhyeon.
If there was something unclear, they should ask the person concerned directly.
“Hm-hm! Sect Leader Ilwoo.”
“Speak.”
“Is the Divine Dragon truly that strong? The rumors say he single-handedly brought down the Iron Blood Demon Emperor. But perhaps someone else exhausted him first, and he merely stepped in at the end?”
The Sect Leader of the Gongdong Sect, who had looked displeased from the start, asked bluntly.
Judging by the atmosphere, the others seemed hesitant, so he had chosen to speak on their behalf.
He had also never been one to suppress his curiosity.
“Do you find it difficult to acknowledge the epithet Sword Saint?”
Ilwoo, who had been sitting silently until now, asked with a meaningful expression.
He knew exactly why Ban Hojin was called the Divine Dragon.
No—more than that, everyone present knew.
They all understood the Gongdong Sect Leader’s true intent.
“Ahem! I hear he is only twenty-one years old. Is it not far too early for such a later-generation talent to bear the title Sword Saint? Even swordsmen past the age of forty rarely attain such a designation.”
“So you are envious?”
Ilwoo let out a short laugh as he asked.
The man’s inner thoughts were plain to see, yet he was speaking in circles.
“Envious? What nonsense!”
“It sounds as though you are desperately dressing up your envy.”
Ilwoo muttered sardonically as he looked at the Gongdong Sect Leader, who was vehemently denying it.
Though arrogant, Ilwoo was the type to acknowledge what deserved acknowledgment.
In truth, his arrogance had largely come from his excessive frankness.
“You go too far!”
“It would be better if you asked Young Master Ban directly. Would that not be more accurate than asking me? Ah, but be sure to add this one phrase—tell him that you covet the title Sword Saint attached to his name and ask him to yield it to you.”
“Sect Leader!”
“It seems that because I have lost my left arm, I appear easy to you. I do not recall you raising your voice at me like this in the past.”
“Ugh!”
The Gongdong Sect Leader’s complexion changed instantly.
With those final words, an icy aura surged from Ilwoo.
The sharpness of his presence, even fiercer than before, made the Gongdong Sect Leader swallow dryly without realizing it.
“This does not look good, Sect Leader. No matter how envious you are, to reveal your inner thoughts so openly in a place like this.”
“His age, you say. I see it differently. Does age truly matter to a martial artist? In the end, a martial artist is one who proves himself. What matters is skill, not age. Unless Young Master Ban committed some grave discourtesy, the Ban Hojin I know may be particular, but he is not arrogant.”
Peng Mancheol and Namgung Ho spoke in Ilwoo’s defense.
They were not particularly close, but they had fought alongside one another against Ironblood Fortress.
Moreover, since this concerned Ban Hojin, the three of them shared the same stance.
“I am of the same mind as the three of you. Besides, an epithet is not something one obtains merely by wishing for it. It is given by others. If there is an issue with the title Sword Saint, then prove it. If you desire it, take it with your skill.”
The Beggar King’s gaze swept over the Gongdong Sect Leader and the others wearing dissatisfied expressions.
Since they had come all the way to Songshan, they might as well challenge him.
Yet none stepped forward at those words.
With Ilwoo, Peng Mancheol, Namgung Ho, and the Beggar King all appearing to defend Ban Hojin, the rumors spreading through the world seemed increasingly true.
If it was indeed true—if Ban Hojin had defeated the Iron Blood Demon Emperor from the outset, rather than stepping in after the four of them had attacked together—then no one present could guarantee victory against him.
Even the Gongdong Sect Leader, who had raised the issue, was not counted among the Ten Great Masters Under Heaven.
Though some praised him as being on that level, being compared to them did not mean one truly stood as their equal.
Swish.
They themselves understood this better than anyone.
None met the Beggar King’s gaze.
At the same time, those who avoided his eyes could not suppress their curiosity.
Even Ilwoo, who now radiated such a chilling aura, had been unable to overcome the Iron Blood Demon Emperor. Yet Ban Hojin had slain him.
“Hmph.”
Seeing them all avert their gazes, Peng Mancheol snorted.
They seemed covered in greed despite lacking the ability to back it up.
When Ironblood Fortress had invaded, they had offered nothing but excuses and refrained from joining the fight. Peng Mancheol felt not the slightest sympathy.
“There is one thing I am curious about, Abbot.”
“Please, speak freely.”
Though Damhyeon was not young, the Beggar King was far older.
Thus, Damhyeon responded respectfully.
“Did you know?”
“Are you referring to Hojin’s skill?”
“Indeed.”
At the Beggar King’s question, everyone’s attention turned to Damhyeon.
Ban Hojin’s strength was astonishing, but they also shared the same curiosity.
Had Damhyeon, as his Master, known the extent of Ban Hojin’s martial realm?
“Would it not be stranger if I, as his Master, did not know?”
“Hur.”
“Remarkable. Is there perhaps some secret to it?”
Namgung Ho asked cautiously after Damhyeon answered without hesitation.
If there was a way, he wanted to know.
But Damhyeon had little to say in response.
“I am sorry, but there is no secret. He was a disciple who did well on his own from a young age. And he learned the sword as well. I taught him the overall principles of martial theory, but it would be more accurate to say he largely taught himself.”
“To reach that level through self-study.”
“Was the Three Dharma Swords truly such a formidable martial art?”
Whispers rose here and there.
They might have thought they were muttering quietly, but Damhyeon heard it all.
“I thought there was some hidden method, but it seems not.”
“As if he would reveal it even if there were.”
Unlike Peng Mancheol, whose face was full of disappointment, Namgung Ho merely shrugged.
Even if their positions were reversed, he would not readily share such knowledge.
“Your Head Disciple might feel uncomfortable.”
The Gongdong Sect Leader added a remark in a tone of feigned concern, but Damhyeon only smiled kindly.
At that, the Gongdong Sect Leader cleared his throat awkwardly and looked away.
“You must feel reassured, Abbot, to have a disciple like Young Master Ban. My own child needs to settle himself soon.”
“I believe the Heavenly Dragon is also outstanding.”
“He is not lacking, but with such an extraordinary peer of the same age, it feels as though his light fades.”
“It is not only you. My children are the same. The other family heads likely feel no different.”
Peng Mancheol spoke as he looked at Namgung Ho’s bitter expression.
He felt exactly the same.
At the same time, all later-generation talents would likely feel despair when they looked at Ban Hojin.
He would seem like an insurmountable wall to them.
“Enough, let us end the discussion about Young Master Ban here. That is not why we gathered.”
As the atmosphere grew increasingly subdued with thoughts of children and disciples, Tang Woo-hyeok shifted the focus.
He understood their feelings, but the conversation had leaned too heavily in one direction.
At the same time, his mouth felt bitter.
Rather than decreasing, the number of rivals seemed to have grown.
‘I should have seized him then.’
The more he thought about it, the more regret Tang Woo-hyeok felt.
When Ban Hojin had come to the Main House, he should have secured him by any means necessary.
Yet on further reflection, even had he tried, Ban Hojin likely would not have yielded easily.
If seizing him had been simple, the Namgung Family or the Hebei Peng Family would not be sighing as they were now.
‘What a waste. Truly a waste.’
Even so, the regret did not fade.
If anything, his desire grew stronger.
He had once wished to bring Ban Hojin into the Sichuan Tang Family, but now that desire burned even greater.
The problem was that he was not the only one thinking so—and Ban Hojin would not be easily bound.
“Were we not gathered without prior arrangement?”
“I simply came.”
“Well, that is Peng Family Head for you.”
Namgung Ho nodded at Peng Mancheol, who spoke as though he had come without much thought.
The others were the same.
It was not the first time he had acted this way, so they took it in stride.
If anything, they were grateful he had arrived on time.
“I believe we have all gathered here with similar thoughts. Though Ironblood Fortress has been repelled, the Nine Heavens Gate remains.”
“Was it not the Sichuan Tang Family that was to handle the Nine Heavens Gate?”
Seeing the Gongdong Sect Leader, who already seemed unpleasant, appear even more so today, Tang Woo-hyeok narrowed his brows.
The man was old enough to know better, yet he spoke without thought.
Several others frowned as well.
“The Main House made no such promise.”
“Do you not dislike interference from other sects?”
“That has never been the case. It is only because the matter was entangled with our family that we took the lead.”
“Hm. So you are requesting assistance.”
“That is correct.”
Tang Woo-hyeok admitted it readily.
Though he was not pleased, it was the truth.
Contrary to expectations, the Nine Heavens Gate was formidable, and the Sichuan Tang Family alone found it burdensome.
Thus he answered stiffly.
“Our sect is willing to aid the Sichuan Tang Family at any time.”
“We feel the same.”
Unlike the reluctant Gongdong Sect Leader, the Qingcheng Sect and the Emei Sect readily expressed their intent to assist.
Like the Sichuan Tang Family, they were based in Sichuan Province, and they viewed the Nine Heavens Gate’s aggression as a threat.
If a force capable of cornering the Sichuan Tang Family with poison existed, it was better to eliminate it while possible—for the sake of future generations.
Moreover, their relations with the Sichuan Tang Family were not poor.
“You have our gratitude.”
“I would like to add something further.”
“Please speak, Family Head of the Zhuge Family.”
After nodding once toward the leaders of Qingcheng and Emei, who had offered help without hesitation, Tang Woo-hyeok turned to Zhuge Mungok.
As the head of the Zhuge Family, his opinion held considerable weight.
“Though we have repelled them, another force from the Neo-Outer Murim may invade the Central Plains as Ironblood Fortress did. It would not be unwise to prepare for such a possibility.”
“Family Head Zhuge, are you perhaps considering the Martial Alliance?”
“Indeed, Beggars’ Sect Leader.”
As if to prove that experience mattered, the Beggar King grasped Zhuge Mungok’s intent instantly.
The hall stirred.
The term Martial Alliance carried great weight.
“Hm. A Martial Alliance.”
“To form a Martial Alliance because of the Nine Heavens Gate.”
Voices of surprise—and differing reactions—rose.
Some were in favor, while others were clearly displeased.
“I am not suggesting we establish a Martial Alliance immediately. I merely propose that we prepare for any unforeseen situation.”
“So you believe that beyond the Nine Heavens Gate, other forces may invade as well.”
“Yes. Did not Ironblood Fortress already reveal its ambition? I believe others are entirely capable of doing the same.”