Chapter 145 : A Favor Is Not a Right
Chapter 145: A Favor Is Not a Right
“You discriminated between the Red Army and our Bright Army.”
At the words of the one called Gap Odol, I became blank for a moment.
I had never even imagined I would hear such a thing.
Shaking my head to cast off the surprise, I asked him,
“In exactly what part did I discriminate?”
“It concerns the assistance given regarding the training of the Red Army and the Bright Army. To be precise….”
As Gap Odol continued his explanation, my expression gradually began to change.
Noticing that shift, his voice, which had been steady at first, grew increasingly subdued toward the end.
He must have realized that my expression had turned cold midway through.
“…That is why we are being discriminated against, th-that is what I am saying.”
Unlike at the beginning, his tone now carried strong hesitation. I asked him,
“Do you believe that claim is valid?”
“O-of course I believe it is valid….”
He could not even finish speaking. He had seen me slowly shake my head.
Yet from my lips came words entirely different from that gesture.
“Then shall I, here and now, thoroughly unravel and explain the Asura Sword Form that I have mastered?”
“I-if you would do that, we would ask for nothing more.”
“Very well. That is not difficult. Let us begin. I shall unravel my internal energy….”
At the sound of my voice continuing thereafter, tens of thousands of martial artists strained their ears.
Some even spread paper they had somehow obtained and began writing things down.
After a long while, the explanation came to an end.
Many closed their eyes and tried to retrace it, but only a few managed to memorize it at once.
Perhaps noticing their anxiety, I explained the Asura Sword Form six more times, precisely as I had interpreted and mastered it.
When nearly everyone seemed to have memorized it, I said,
“I have explained it perfectly like this, so at the very least you should reach the Super-Peak Realm. It took Ma Ryang eight months to step from First Rate into the Transcendent Realm, so I shall give you one year. Those who fail to reach it will all be beheaded.”
My voice was so calm it was as if I were remarking that the neighbor’s child had come to visit.
Perhaps because of that, even those who had been nodding eventually widened their eyes.
They had realized the sharpness and savagery hidden in the final condition.
Looking at them placidly, I continued,
“No one is good from the beginning. The reason those who master supreme secret manuals have reached their present level of interpretive ability is because of their blood-soaked effort—not merely because they encountered such manuals early.”
Was that difficult to accept? I went on as murmurs rose among them.
“There is proof. Under the same master, learning the same secret manual, one reaches the Transcendent Realm while another barely clings to First Rate. Are those who reached First Rate simply fools?”
“There are those who strive endlessly and still cannot succeed!”
An immediate protest burst forth.
“Of course there are. Then whose fault is that? Did the master discriminate? Or did he give them a different secret manual?”
There was a stir, but no one stepped forward to answer.
Looking at them, I said,
“Either their ability did not suffice for proper interpretation, or they were lazy and failed to train properly, or they abandoned the difficult orthodox path and chased easy shortcuts and luck.”
Another stir arose.
They refused to accept it.
If they admitted it, they would be admitting that they were such people.
Looking at them, I continued,
“The latter two are entirely their own fault. Of course, insufficient ability cannot be called a fault—but neither can it justify blaming others.”
“How can you say we cannot blame others? You told the factions of the Red Army methods that allow them to train their martial arts comfortably, did you not!”
“Who are you?”
“I am Gaso, Vice Cult Leader.”
Perhaps prepared to die, Gaso stepped forward with a resolute expression. I gazed at him and said,
“I shall tell you that ‘comfortable method’ you mentioned. The training method I suggested to the Gu Yang Sect was to circulate energy through the Conception Vessel alone for half the day.”
Those who did not grasp the meaning of my words began grumbling—‘You give them such an easy method, why not us?’
Looking at them, I continued,
“You seem to be mistaken. If one operates the Gu Yang Sect’s internal energy—composed of Yin Energy—through the Conception Vessel, one suffers pain as if the limbs are being torn apart.”
A visible shudder passed through the gathered crowd.
They had not considered that.
They had only heard that I had given a good method to solve their stalled training.
I continued,
“The Gu Yang Sect endures such pain for half the day. Easy, you say? If you claim you will follow their training method, I shall recommend you to the Gu Yang Sect right now. I will have you personally instructed in their strongest martial art and begin training at once.”
Gaso could not answer. He slowly retreated and disappeared into the crowd.
Turning my gaze from him to sweep over those gathered, I said,
“You have been given an opportunity. And the consequences will be clear. Those who fail to reach the Super-Peak Realm within one year, regardless of the reason, will be beheaded. Those who flee midway will be cut down as well.”
At the end of those words, I looked toward one of the figures surrounding the flustered crowd.
“Discipline Court Head.”
At my call, the Discipline Court Head of the Bright Cult, who oversaw rules and inspections, stepped forward.
“Yes, Vice Cult Leader.”
“If anyone among those gathered here attempts to flee, cut them down without mercy first. Report afterward. I will take responsibility.”
“Yes, sir!”
At his unquestioning bow, fear entered the people’s eyes.
“You have obtained what you desired. Now answer me with results.”
Leaving those words behind, I turned. No one dared stop me.
After glancing once at me as I departed, the Cult Leader spoke brusquely to those assembled,
“Well done. You gathered so diligently just to find your graves. Are you satisfied now?”
No one answered his rebuke. He continued,
“Did you think the Vice Cult Leader did not know what was in your hearts? His tone has softened lately, and he helps those in difficulty, so you thought you might as well throw a tantrum. If it worked, good. If not, so be it. At least you would lose nothing.”
Many could not even meet the Cult Leader’s eyes.
That meant that, if not all, then most had indeed participated with such thoughts or after such discussions.
Looking at them, the Cult Leader said,
“The bowl has overturned, and the water has spilled. There is no way to scoop up the water once it has soaked into the ground. You can only sow seeds in that soaked earth, plant wheat, and prove yourselves through harvest.”
The gathered crowd cast pleading looks at him.
But—
“Work hard. Super-Peak Realm. It’s nothing special. If you try hard enough to die for it, you’ll all make it. And if not, well, you’ll just die.”
With only those words tossed out, he turned and left. No one dared stop him.
Thus the first uprising—no, protest—in the history of the Bright Cult ended feebly.
Among those grumbling that the condition imposed upon them was too harsh, one happened to notice a fellow disciple who had been assigned to the Ten Thousand Swords Unit among the surrounding crowd.
He spoke casually to him,
“You did nothing, yet thanks to us you got to hear the true explanation of the Asura Sword Form. Must be nice.”
“I didn’t listen.”
“What? Don’t lie!”
“It’s true. I didn’t pay attention.”
“Why?”
“Even if I listened, it wouldn’t suit me. If I became conscious of it for no reason, it would only hinder my training.”
“W-what does that mean?”
The Ten Thousand Swords Unit martial artist answered,
“Just as people differ outwardly, they differ inwardly as well. Internal energy arts rely on one’s own meridians and blood vessels. How could the method of internal energy mastered by someone else fit me?”
Seeing his companion still confused, he explained more simply,
“You go to a clothing shop. You look for clothes that fit your body. You don’t reshape your body to fit clothes that look good on someone else.”
His companion finally seemed to understand a little. The Ten Thousand Swords Unit martial artist continued,
“As a fellow disciple, there is only one thing I can tell you. Discard it. If you train exactly as the Vice Cult Leader expounded, you will never reach the Super-Peak Realm.”
Those who overheard their conversation wore deeply flustered expressions.
While tens of thousands stood bewildered at the Grand Training Grounds, the Cult Leader approached me as I headed toward my residence.
“Unexpected.”
“What is?”
“Given how you’ve been lately, I thought you would present some kind of method.”
“If they wanted that, instead of gathering to shout, they should have invited me to their training.”
“Invited?”
“If they had shown me how hard they were working and asked what they might be doing wrong, we might have found a method together.”
“Is there a difference?”
“They behaved as if my assistance in training were a right granted to them. A favor is not a right.”
It was something the Cult Leader had once told me—that if I treated subordinates too well, they would climb over me.
He smiled in satisfaction that I had not forgotten those words.
“If that’s the reasoning behind it, you did well. Yes! A favor is not a right. That rotten thought of ‘he received it, so I should too’ must be cut out.”
He glanced at me as I walked silently and asked,
“Want to come watch me train?”
Seeing straight through his intentions, I chuckled.
“Why? Something not going well?”
“No. I’m doing fine. But that bastard Blood Sword Unit Commander just can’t keep up. I’ve said a few things to him, but it hasn’t helped. Want to take a look?”
That was unexpected.
I had never heard the Cult Leader speak humbly to someone for another’s sake.
I welcomed the change in him.
“Very well. Shall we go now?”
“Shall we?”
I liked the bright look on his face. It was joy for another’s benefit, not his own.
“Let’s go, Senior Brother.”
“Right. Let’s go.”
As I followed him toward his residence, the attendants trailed behind in a crowd.
Amusingly, the Blood Sword Unit Commander was among them.
Well, as the leader of the Blood Sword Unit—the Cult Leader’s personal guard—he was hardly in a position to train peacefully while unrest stirred within the Bright Cult.
Perhaps because of that, as he followed behind the others, the Blood Sword Unit Commander’s face was brightly lit with hope.