Chapter 153 : Two Plus Three
Chapter 153: Two Plus Three
Kunlun arrived at the Demonic Path first.
They had departed the earliest, but more importantly, the distance was the shortest.
And it was not just anyone who came—
the Kunlun Sect Master himself had personally arrived.
Facing the Kunlun Sect Master, the Cult Leader sneered.
“Hey now. Well, well… living long really lets you see everything. The Kunlun Sect Master himself has come all the way here. Tomorrow the sun might rise in the west.”
Despite the insulting remark, Shin Jijinren, the Kunlun Sect Master, could not say a single word.
After quietly staring at him, Yul Han asked,
“I assume you will not say you couldn’t stop them, so I’ll ask directly. Why did you leave them be?”
In other words, do not offer the excuse that it could not be prevented.
At Yul Han’s words, Shin Jijinren answered calmly.
“I thought… if their deaths would shine brightly, leaving them be would not be such a bad thing.”
“Shine brightly in death… You mean like the Taiji Sword Emperor of Wudang?”
“…What do you mean?”
“He too wished to die for honor. I’m asking whether his name shone after he died that way.”
At Yul Han’s question, Shin Jijinren could not answer.
Rather than shining, the name had simply been buried.
Some even gave harsh evaluations, saying that by stubbornly clinging to his own position and dying, he created the opportunity for the Hundred Paths to be dragged around by the Bright Cult.
Shin Jijinren knew that better than anyone, which was why he could not respond.
Yul Han looked at him and asked again,
“Others could not reach beyond that point… but you thought I—no, we, the Kunlun Sect—would do better?”
Once again, Shin Jijinren could not answer.
It was a question that struck the very core.
Even though the Taiji Sword Emperor had ended that way, they had firmly believed their own masters would die and become the spark that reignited the spirit of the Hundred Paths.
Of course, the result had been completely different from what they expected.
Seeing Shin Jijinren keep his mouth tightly shut, Yul Han said,
“I know words won’t change anything, so I won’t continue this discussion. What will you offer before taking them back?”
In response to Yul Han’s cold question, Shin Jijinren presented something.
Should it be called a pledge?
It was a single sheet of paper containing Kunlun’s promise.
Holding it out, Shin Jijinren said,
“For the next five years, Kunlun will supply one-third of the grain that the Bright Cult required in an average year.”
“You mean you’ll buy them back with rice?”
“These days grain is more expensive than gold. And I assumed grain was what the Bright Cult needed most right now… am I mistaken?”
Even though a large amount of grain had been supplied through Golden Flower Manor, the Bright Cult was still facing a shortage.
The amount distributed through the Guardian Division continued to increase, and the grain consumed by the people Yul Han had brought in from outside was also considerable.
Of course, things would change once the harvest began in the Military Farms, but that time had not yet come.
There was another matter.
The Yeonryuk Merchant Guild, recently incorporated under the Bright Cult’s jurisdiction, possessed enormous stores of grain—but their grain had not flowed into the Bright Cult.
That was because the grain had been stockpiled for commerce, not for the Bright Cult’s use.
Yul Han knew very well that taking it would ruin the merchant guild.
After finally coming under the Bright Cult’s jurisdiction, he did not want to hear that their capital had been drained little by little until they collapsed.
In the end, Yul Han picked up the document containing Kunlun’s promise.
“If you break this—”
“That will not happen.”
At Shin Jijinren’s firm answer, Yul Han glanced toward the side.
The Cult Leader nodded.
The promise referred to an “average year”—in other words, the consumption before Yul Han had caused massive external expenditures. But even the amount consumed back then was far from negligible.
Perhaps because of that, Kunlun’s offer to shoulder only one-third of it seemed more believable.
Moreover, in a Great Famine like the current one, gathering that much grain could not be accomplished with money alone.
With the Cult Leader agreeing—he understood that better than anyone—Yul Han turned around.
“Let the Kunlun people out.”
At Yul Han’s command, Iron Demon moved from the back.
Soon after, the exhausted Taiqing Pavilion Lord and Kunlun’s Younger Generation Talent appeared.
After glancing at the two men—who could not even properly meet their Sect Master’s eyes—Shin Jijinren rose.
“Then I will take my leave.”
After confirming the Cult Leader and Yul Han nodding, Shin Jijinren comforted the Taiqing Pavilion Lord and the Younger Generation Talent before leaving with them.
---
The next to arrive were from Mount Dian.
Elder Jaehwa, who had rushed there, handed over a letter containing terms identical to Kunlun’s—as if it had been arranged in advance—and returned with Ghost Immortal and their Younger Generation Talent.
After that, the Qingcheng Sect Master arrived.
Yul Han faced him with a complicated expression.
“I knew our paths were different, but I did not expect our intentions to be as well.”
“Though our connection is deep, our paths differ—how could our intentions be the same?”
“I believed Qingcheng valued people highly. Was I mistaken?”
“Qingcheng is still a martial sect. Knowing when to draw the sword and when to die is also part of our duty.”
“So you believed that was the moment?”
At Yul Han’s disappointed question, the Qingcheng Sect Master asked calmly,
“If war broke out with the Hundred Paths, could the Vice Cult Leader spare only the martial artists of Qingcheng because of your connection with Lightning Cloud Blade?”
“That is…”
“It is the same. Even if it is imperfect, Qingcheng is still part of the Hundred Paths. If we moved only when conditions were perfect, who would stand beside us? I hope that serves as an answer, however lacking.”
In short, even if it was not the perfect moment, the comrades who stood together had made their resolve—and so they joined them.
It could have been interpreted as implying a decision made at the level of the Martial Alliance, but neither Yul Han nor the Cult Leader pursued that angle.
They had no intention of exploiting an honest answer in such a petty way.
“I cannot agree, but I understand. Take them.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the Qingyun Pavilion Lord and Qingcheng’s Younger Generation Talent appeared.
Yul Han had already told them to bring them if Qingcheng arrived.
Seeing that the people were brought out before he had even stated his offer, the Qingcheng Sect Master asked,
“I have not yet said what I intend to offer.”
“I’ve already received it.”
Not understanding what Yul Han meant, the Qingcheng Sect Master remained silent.
“….”
Then, as if to show him clearly, Yul Han placed the Lightning Cloud Blade on the table.
“I already received this.”
“But that was back then—”
“Just as Qingcheng said it cannot turn away from those walking the same path, I will not ignore the weight of past connections. That is all.”
The Qingcheng Sect Master stared at Yul Han for a long time before standing.
“Since you call it a connection, I will not call it a debt. I only hope Qingcheng may continue this connection with goodwill.”
Leaving those words behind, he departed with the Qingyun Pavilion Lord and the Younger Generation Talent.
---
After that, many others came.
Some, like Kunlun and Mount Dian, offered grain.
Others brought promissory notes.
Uniquely, Wudang presented an elixir called the Taiqing Pill, which had long been believed lost.
“Though it is only one pill, it is Wudang’s treasure—something that can never be created again.”
The Wudang Sect Master’s expression was heavy as he held out the Taiqing Pill.
How heavy must the heart be of someone offering the only remaining treasure of their sect?
Yul Han said to him,
“It seems grain or wealth would have been lighter.”
The Wudang Sect Master replied with a bitter expression.
“Our situation differs somewhat from the other sects. Because of the Great Famine, we have no grain stored in our granaries, nor do we possess enough wealth to purchase a master of the Transcendent Realm.”
Wu Wei Zi Ran.
Just like their maxim, Wudang had little desire for wealth.
For them, honor held greater importance.
Sometimes to the point of obsession.
And sometimes that obsession claimed innocent lives—
like the story of the Taiji Sword Emperor.
Even so, Yul Han had no intention of criticizing Wudang.
In some ways, they were better than those who clung desperately to wealth and interests.
Without another word, he stored the Taiqing Pill and turned around.
Iron Demon immediately understood and hurried off.
The True Martial Hall Master and Upper Pure Pavilion Lord, unable to raise their heads, departed like that.
---
Then they arrived.
Just like Wudang, the Shaolin Abbot presented a wooden box and simply closed his eyes, murmuring “Amitabha.”
When Yul Han slowly opened the box, his eyes met the Cult Leader’s.
They both instantly recognized the two pills resting neatly inside.
“Great Reversion Pills!”
Iron Demon, looking over their shoulders, exclaimed in admiration.
The Shaolin Abbot slowly opened his eyes and spoke.
“That is correct. Great Reversion Pills. There are two here now, but the Great Reversion Pills I intend to offer total five.”
At that moment, Yul Han recalled the story that had occurred at the Zhuge Clan.
Seeing the understanding in his eyes, the abbot continued.
“Judging from the Vice Cult Leader’s gaze, it seems you already understand what this monk means. Therefore I will not give a long explanation. Retrieve them. That is the price I offer.”
“Five Great Reversion Pills? Isn’t that too excessive?”
The Cult Leader suddenly cut in.
Everyone’s eyes turned toward him.
Under their gaze, the Cult Leader said,
“I’ll just take two.”
He did not know the details, but he understood one thing.
To obtain the other three pills not present here, his junior brother would have to move.
And if even the Shaolin Abbot had come personally to say this, the task would certainly not be easy.
No matter how tempting the Great Reversion Pills were, the Cult Leader had no intention of pushing such a burden onto his junior brother.
So when the Cult Leader grabbed the box containing the two pills, the Shaolin Abbot hurriedly grabbed the opposite side.
“Would not five be better than two?”
“I said two is fine.”
“But the one giving them says it is not fine.”
“If the seller says it’s fine, why does the buyer talk so much? Just give me the two and take them!”
“I must give all five.”
The two men began struggling over the box.
In terms of martial realm, the Shaolin Abbot was no match for the Cult Leader.
The abbot stood at the Super-Peak Realm, but the Cult Leader was at the extreme edge of the Manifestation Realm.
If he used internal energy, shaking off the abbot’s grip would have been effortless.
Yet they continued struggling because they were using only physical strength.
If internal energy were used, it might cause serious internal injuries.
From the Cult Leader’s perspective, he could not injure someone who had come to negotiate a deal his junior brother had arranged.
So they had to rely purely on physical strength.
The problem was that his opponent was the Shaolin Abbot.
Shaolin was the ancestral home of External Energy Arts in the Central Plains.
Even the abbot, an internal master, could not escape Shaolin’s traditions.
The fact that he still trained external energy arts for one shijin every day proved that.
Sharpening the body’s strength was the foundation of external arts.
Thus, the Cult Leader could not easily shake off the abbot’s grip.
Watching the absurd tug-of-war, Yul Han finally intervened.
With just his thumb and forefinger, he casually plucked the wooden box away from the two men who were pulling it toward themselves.
The Cult Leader and the Shaolin Abbot stared blankly at him.
Seeing their stunned expressions, Yul Han said—