Chapter 150 : The Thing I Despised
Chapter 150: The Thing I Despised
The one who stepped inside, passing by Jegal Giyeon who had gone stiff, was Yul Han.
Jegal Giyeon only looked startled for a brief moment. In an instant, he composed himself and cupped his fist.
“I welcome the Vice Cult Leader’s visit to the Martial Alliance.”
“I do not believe this is something to be welcomed.”
“How could you say such a thing? The Martial Alliance wishes to remain on amicable terms with your cult.”
“Then was sending this letter also a means to remain amicable?”
Yul Han held out the letter.
Jegal Giyeon’s gaze, which had been fixed on it, flicked briefly toward Jonggyu.
His fierce eyes and tightly pressed lips made it clear—he already knew what the letter contained.
Confirming that, Jegal Giyeon tried his utmost to maintain a calm expression as he accepted the letter from Yul Han.
“That is correct. Those who moved with intentions different from the Alliance ran toward the Bright Cult, and we sought to prevent that from causing a clash between your cult and our Martial Alliance.”
“If you truly wished to prevent it, should you not have used another method?”
“What do you—”
“I heard, upon arriving here, that even Younger Generation Talents went with them.”
At Yul Han’s words, Jegal Giyeon’s gaze turned to Jonggyu. It was because of the part about having heard it here at the Martial Alliance.
Jonggyu did not avoid that look.
After staring at him for a moment, Jegal Giyeon answered Yul Han.
“That is also what I have been told.”
“Then their speed would have been matched to them. If a high-ranking figure of the Martial Alliance had stepped forward, you could have caught up easily. Should you not have first attempted to block their path?”
To be honest, that very argument had been raised during the Council of Elders. Some of the Elders—even the Alliance Leader at the very least—should have gone out, blocked their path, and turned them back.
But that opinion had not been accepted.
The reason was that if they failed to stop them, the Martial Alliance might be misunderstood as having directed their actions.
In short, they did not wish to provide the Bright Cult with a pretext for retaliation.
A consensus had formed that they should avoid a situation where the Hundred Paths suffered harm because of those who had defied their sects’ orders and acted independently for their own advancement.
Of course, that was merely a justification. Their true intentions had been different.
In truth, several sects had subtly taken the stance of supporting those who had defied their sects and rushed out.
They could not openly agree, but they revealed that if sacrifice was necessary to restore the righteous spirit of the Hundred Paths, they were willing to accept it.
That had been the case for the Kunlun Sect, the Qingcheng Sect, and the Mount Dian Sect.
Perhaps because of that, they had been lukewarm both in restraining them and in expanding the matter into war.
On the other hand, there were a few who had insisted on escalating this incident outright into full-scale war.
That had been the Namgung Clan and the Mount Hua Sect.
Rather than stopping or tacitly permitting them, they had argued for mobilizing large numbers of martial artists to back them up.
After all, for the first time in over a hundred years, Manifestation Realm martial artists from their own sects were heading toward the Bright Cult.
In that sense, Jegal Giyeon found it difficult to understand why Shaolin, which possessed Unyeon Dharma King who had reached the Manifestation Realm, maintained its silence.
No matter how many masters they had like clouds, it would not be easy to discard a Manifestation Realm expert.
In any case, they too were a minority.
The majority of the remaining sects had chosen survival.
They did not wish to endanger their existence by picking a fight with those who had already been defeated.
That was the reason the Martial Alliance had abandoned those who had refused their sects’ commands and collectively defected to join the Kongtong Successor Cultivation Plan.
Thus, the answer to Yul Han’s question had already been decided.
“We were afraid. That if we attempted to stop them and failed, it might signal to the Bright Cult that the Martial Alliance stood behind them.”
At Jegal Giyeon’s answer, Jonggyu squeezed his eyes shut.
It was humiliating.
He knew.
The reality that the Hundred Paths did not possess a master capable of stopping the Vice Cult Leader.
And yet, at the very heart of the Hundred Paths, for none other than the Strategist of the Martial Alliance to say to a man of the Bright Cult that they were ‘afraid’—it sounded like a declaration of surrender.
But the words that reached Jonggyu’s ears from Yul Han contained something unexpected.
“So you were afraid of dying, and abandoned your comrades.”
It seemed Jonggyu was not the only one startled.
Even Jegal Giyeon’s eyes, which had been struggling to maintain composure, widened as round as coins.
Yul Han spoke to him.
“To correct what is wrong is righteousness. To sacrifice oneself for others is loyalty. To not yield to fear is chivalry.”
“How do you know the Alliance’s creed—”
Jegal Giyeon stammered in shock, but Yul Han continued.
“I hope you look back and ask whether you are truly following that creed properly. Now that I have confirmed the authenticity of this letter and understand its intent, I shall take my leave.”
With that, Yul Han turned.
Jonggyu’s voice stopped him.
“Will you… kill them all?”
Yul Han turned back to face him.
“A martial artist of the Bright Cult draws his blade and says he will kill you. Will you spare him?”
“I cannot kill anyone anyway.”
Yul Han looked puzzled. Jonggyu continued.
“Iron Wall Strategy. The martial art I learned exists solely for defense.”
Only then did a faint memory surface.
Among the things Iron Demon had once babbled about—how strange it was that someone who had never learned a single offensive technique had reached the Super-Peak Realm.
That person had been Jonggyu.
For a moment, an unusual glint entered Yul Han’s eyes.
“Coincidentally, I had a comrade who said there was something he wished to ask if he ever met you.”
“Me?”
“Yes. If I ask, will you answer?”
“Let me hear it first.”
“He wondered—judging by the realm you have reached, you appear fully capable of learning offensive martial arts. Why did you not?”
Jonggyu cast a brief glance at Jegal Giyeon before answering.
“I did not wish to.”
“Why?”
“Because protecting others felt better than killing someone.”
Yul Han stared at him with red eyes for a moment, then grinned.
“You are sincere. A good man.”
“I do not know if I am a good man, Vice Cult Leader. But rather than being someone who kills others, how about you become someone who protects?”
Jonggyu’s question carried earnestness.
Yul Han answered,
“I will try.”
With that, he left the room.
The Twin Might of the Moon Sword hurriedly followed behind him.
They did not have the confidence to remain alone, so openly, in the very heart of the Martial Alliance and emerge unscathed.
As Yul Han departed, the martial artists of the Martial Alliance continued to bow their heads, still not understanding what had just transpired.
* * *
On a clearing at the foot of a small mountain in Shaanxi, the Azure Dragon Sword King looked over those scattered around, resting.
The masters were still holding up reasonably well, but the fatigue of the Younger Generation Talents was far too great.
It was because they had hurried in order to avoid colliding with those from the Martial Alliance who might come running to stop them.
In the case of the Younger Generation Talents whose skills lagged too far behind, even though the masters had carried them on their backs and run, it was still like this.
“At this rate, we cannot continue for long.”
At the words of the Heavenly Flower Sword King, who approached his side, the Azure Dragon Sword King nodded.
“It seems so. We should rest a bit before moving again.”
“And the Martial Alliance…?”
“Perhaps our worry was unnecessary.”
At the Azure Dragon Sword King’s words, which came before his own, the Heavenly Flower Sword King nodded and gave a bitter smile.
He had thought they would come to stop them. If not the others, at least the Alliance Leader would urgently chase after them and try to dissuade them.
But the Martial Alliance had not even made the slightest attempt.
‘Are they telling us to die and at least restore the righteous spirit of the Hundred Paths?’
He had set out with that very resolve, so there was nothing to regret, yet he could not suppress the bitterness that crept into his heart.
It felt as though he were being pushed forward from behind.
‘We clearly stepped forward of our own will, so why does it feel like this? Is it because I am lacking…?’
The Heavenly Flower Sword King shook his head quietly, his expression dark.
Not wishing to show that expression to others, he left the clearing where everyone rested and stepped into the forest.
The Azure Dragon Sword King, who had been beside him, assumed he was going to relieve himself and paid no particular attention.
As the Heavenly Flower Sword King entered the forest and slowly calmed his mood, a voice reached his ears.
“If it does not sit well with you, why not simply return?”
“That is not so eas—”
He cut himself off and slowly turned.
Standing there was him.
“Vice… Cult Leader!”
“Yes. It is I.”
“How did you find us?”
“I have a friend who is rather skilled at finding things.”
Following the direction of Yul Han’s gaze at the end of that remark, the Heavenly Flower Sword King saw someone leaning against a tree, face pale.
“Who is that?”
“He is called the Twin Might of the Moon Sword.”
“The Hae-nam Sword Sect!”
“They seem quite famous.”
“One of the Hae-nam Five Swords… Do not tell me the Bright Cult has joined hands with Hae-nam?”
“The Bright Cult is not in such dire straits that we would need to.”
At the Vice Cult Leader’s confident reply, the Heavenly Flower Sword King’s expression hardened.
Indeed, as long as the Vice Cult Leader existed, there was no reason for the Bright Cult to join hands with the Unorthodox Factions.
Yul Han continued.
“I would advise you to turn back.”
“From the way you speak, it seems you know why and where we are going.”
“Roughly.”
“And yet you tell us to return. There was something I was curious about anyway, so this works out. Allow me to ask just one thing.”
“I am listening.”
“Why? With that much power, why hesitate now?”
“Hesitate?”
“If you simply did as before, why hesitate? Just sweep us aside and drive the Hundred Paths back—”
The Heavenly Flower Sword King could not finish his words.
Because he saw Yul Han’s faint smirk.
It was a smile filled with killing intent, yet within it he clearly sensed a kind of emptiness.
That was why he could not complete his question.
Yul Han spoke.
“Because I have power, I do as I please. Because I have influence, I act as I please. You speak the same words as my comrade.”
“Your comrade?”
“If I say Iron Demon, you may recognize the name.”
At the mention of Iron Demon, the Heavenly Flower Sword King’s eyes twisted fiercely.
Iron Demon was one of the ten Bright Cult masters marked with ‘Must Be Slain’ by the Hundred Paths.
Hundreds of orthodox martial artists had died by his hand.
Then again, by that logic, the one whose name stood first on the list of those who must absolutely be killed was the Vice Cult Leader standing before him.
And yet here he was, exchanging words with that very man…
For a fleeting moment, the Heavenly Flower Sword King’s stiff expression wavered. Yul Han asked,
“If the words and thoughts are the same, what difference is there between the two?”
“You compare me to Iron Demon?”
The Heavenly Flower Sword King shouted in displeasure. Yul Han merely shrugged.
“You asked a similar question, so I responded in kind.”
“He may have asked out of a thirst for blood, but I ask only because I am curious about the Vice Cult Leader’s recent conduct, which differs from before!”
“Is that so? Hmm. Then I will answer. Just because I have power does not mean I wish to wield it recklessly. Just because my influence is great does not mean I wish to crush others beneath it.”
“Why? Why has your thinking changed?”
“Because I have been on the receiving end of that myself. Each time it happened, I despised those people. And yet I…”
“What do you mean by that?”
Unable to immediately comprehend how the Vice Cult Leader of the Bright Cult could have experienced such a thing, the Heavenly Flower Sword King questioned him.
Yul Han only gave his characteristic, killing-intent-laden smile.
Offering a smile in place of an answer, he continued.
“I cannot give you much time. As I told the Taiji Sword Emperor of Wudang, I may try to dissuade you, but I have no intention of suffering harm.”
The Heavenly Flower Sword King’s expression tensed instantly.
“So at the very least, do not set foot in Xinjiang. Of course, if you force blood from our side, I will come find you again, even if it is not Xinjiang. And at that time, I will not be standing here merely talking.”
With only those words left behind, Yul Han grabbed the back of the Twin Might of the Moon Sword’s collar—who asked in a drained voice, “Again?”—and vanished from the Heavenly Flower Sword King’s sight.
The Heavenly Flower Sword King stared blankly at the place where the Vice Cult Leader had disappeared, then returned from the forest.
The Azure Dragon Sword King approached him.
“You have strong stamina. What kind of relieving takes that long?”
Only then did he realize.
They had not sensed that the Vice Cult Leader had come and gone.
It was humiliating, but he had to admit it.
Even though they were both in the Manifestation Realm, the Vice Cult Leader had reached an entirely different dimension.
But then a question arose.
Setting aside the Vice Cult Leader, what about the aura of the Twin Might of the Moon Sword?
“Did you perhaps sense any suspicious aura nearby?”
At his question, the Azure Dragon Sword King’s eyes sharpened immediately.
“Why? Did you feel something strange?”
From the immediate tension in his expression, it was clear—he had not sensed even the aura of the Twin Might of the Moon Sword.
Judging by the calmness of Unyeon Dharma King resting in the distance, as well as the other Transcendent Realm masters, it seemed the same for them.
‘How?’
The moment the question formed, realization dawned upon him.
‘He was dominating the space itself!’
Once more acutely aware of the gap between himself and the Vice Cult Leader, the Heavenly Flower Sword King opened his mouth with difficulty.