Anyone got anything else to say? (1)
“Uigeom…. P-Pfft. Uigeom Maehwa.”
“Mppphhhm don’t…….”
“Why? It sounds so cool. Khehehehehehe!”
Baek Cheon’s face twisted into a grimace.
“Maehwa, he says, Maehwa! Not even Hwasan, but Maehwa!”
“What’s… wrong with it.”
“Who said there was anything wrong with it? Wahahahahahah!”
The moment Baek Cheon quietly clenched his tray tightly, Yoon Jong restrained Jo Geol.
“That’s enough, Geol. What do you think you’re doing?”
“Ah, my apologies.”
“Isn’t he the ‘Righteous [Ui]’ Sword, the ‘Righteous’! It isn’t right to mock such a righteous man! He’s on a completely different level from someone like you, whose only claim to fame is being fast.”
“Khhhhhk. This lowly one failed to understand that, Sahyeong. I shall reflect upon my actions.”
“Good. You must continue diligently cultivating yourself so that one day, your title might also contain a character like ‘Righteousness [의(義) – Ui]’ or ‘Uprightness [Jeong – 정(正)]’. You should follow Sasuk’s example.”
“…..One day, I’m really going to kill you. I mean it. I’m really going to kill you.”
“Now, now. Your words and actions should befit your title, Sasuk.”
“Exactly.”
Watching Baek Cheon tremble with rage, Yoon Jong and Jo Geol desperately suppressed their laughter.
At that moment, Tang Soso turned to Yu Iseol, who was silently eating beside Baek Cheon, and spoke with a bright smile.
“Sago, I thought your new title was rather nice?”
“…”
“Honestly, your previous one was very strange. Ice Sword [빙검(氷劍) – Bing-geom]? What kind of name is this? It’s not as though we’re disciples of the Ice Palace [빙궁 – bing-gung].”
“…”
The corners of Tang Soso’s lips curled into a smirk. It was barely noticeable, but Yu Iseol’s chopsticks twitched.
“So, which one do you prefer, Sago? Wolha Bigeom? Or Geomryu Maehyang?”
Clack.
Yu Iseol’s chopsticks suddenly struck her dish.
“Hmm? Which one? Which one? Oh, are you perhaps in Bigeom Maehyang camp too, Sago?”
Yu Iseol’s ears turned bright red. At such an unusually strong reaction from her, Tang Soso’s smile deepened further.
“I’m finished eat……”
“Where are you going?!”
As Yu Iseol abruptly rose to her feet, Tang Soso swiftly grabbed hold of her clothes.
“Wow. What an impressive grappling technique.”
“She’s merciless too.”
“Sit down, Sago. Come on. This is an extremely important matter.”
“I-I…….”
“Now. Answer me, Sago. Which one do you like? Which one appeals to you?”
Yu Iseol struggled, but Tang Soso somehow managed to hold on to her and refused to let go. Faced with this horrifying act of insubordination unfolding before their eyes, Baek Cheon’s body trembled.
“Y-You think you’ll be spared? It’s us now, but you’re next. Do you really think your titles will never change, or that you won’t be given new ones? Just you wait until then.”
“Well, I suppose that could happen.”
Jo Geol answered indifferently.
“But even if we receive new ones, they certainly won’t contain the character for righteousness [의(義) – ui].”
“Ah…..”
“Because that sort of title is reserved for righteous people. Isn’t that right, Sasuk?”
Baek Cheon swallowed his tears. Of all the titles he could have received, why did it have to be something so grandiose…
“No, this is supposed to be a good thing.”
“Did anyone say otherwise?”
“I am simply envious, Sasuk. Please accept my deepest respect!”
It was these bastards. The title was not the problem. These bastards were the problem.
“Enough.”
Baek Cheon quickly composed his expression and turned his head around sharply.
“Baek Sang.”
“Yes?”
“Are there any problems with receiving the Sect Leaders?”
“…”
“What? What are you glaring at?”
“…Everything is fine so far.”
After checking Baek Cheon’s expression, Baek Sang smacked his lips regretfully before obediently changing the subject.
“More than fifty Sect Leaders have arrived as of today. Even more will probably arrive tomorrow, and I believe most of them will be here within three days. Some may still arrive on the fourth day, but we cannot simply wait indefinitely for everyone, so we plan to begin the alliance meeting on the fourth day.”
Baek Cheon nodded.
“It seems the schedule has moved forward by at least two days.”
“We did not expect everyone to hurry here with such urgency.”
Baek Sang scratched his head, looking bewildered as well.
“In the past, it would have taken at least half a month.”
“Exactly.”
Taking that into consideration, they had expected it to take seven days and nights for the sect leaders to arrive, but matters were progressing far more quickly than anticipated.
“Should we take this as Hwasan’s standing rising that much?”
“…There could be several reasons, but honestly, it’s a little embarrassing to go looking for other explanations.”
An awkward expression crossed Baek Cheon’s face.
Perhaps it was because, in everything they did under the name of Hwasan, they had grown accustomed to being looked down upon. He simply could not get used to this situation.
“In any case, make sure nothing is overlooked when receiving the guests. Times like these are precisely when we must pay even greater attention.”
“…”
“What?”
“No. It just feels strange hearing you say something like that, Sahyeong. Have you really resolved yourself to become the Sect Leader? Now that you’ve even received such a fine title… Ack!”
Baek Cheon kicked Baek Sang away and erupted in fury.
“You bastard! You too!”
“I only teased you once! Why am I the only one getting hit?”
“The last one to do it is the worst.”
“…Then I guess the truly awful one is someone else.”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
It happened then.
Creeeeak.
The dining hall door opened with an ominous screech. Baek Cheon, who had frozen in place as though seized by a premonition, slowly turned his head with a stiff, creaking motion.
“What else would I mean?”
And then Baek Cheon saw him.
A demon who descended upon the mortal realm.
“Hey, Sasuk.”
With an immensely pleased smile stretched across his entire face, Chung Myung looked at Baek Cheon and spoke.
“I heard you got a new title?”
Baek Cheon squeezed his eyes shut. He would rather have fainted on the spot.
❀ ❀ ❀
“Hmm. Hwasan……”
The Sect Leaders who had been shown to the guest quarters wore peculiar expressions.
Those who had previously joined Cheonumaeng had already visited Hwasan before, but for the Sect Leaders gathered here now, this was their first visit.
And after seeing Hwasan with their own eyes… how should they put it?
“…Was Hwasan always such a prosperous sect?”
“Indeed. The rooms are not particularly big, but… the furnishings in the guest quarters seem quite luxurious.”
“I did not expect much from a Taoist sect…. Yet it seems far beyond what I imagined.”
After inspecting their assigned rooms, the Sect Leaders gathered in the spacious sitting room on the first floor of the guest reception pavilion and exchanged glances.
The reason they had rushed all the way to Hwasan was not simply to make a good impression. Some might have feared future repercussions, while others might simply have been genuinely curious about the sect known as Hwasan.
However, the purpose of those gathered here was slightly different from either of those.
The war was over. At least for a while, there would likely be no large-scale upheaval like the one they had just endured.
That also meant that, for a time being, the world would be ruled not by strength, but by money.
And so they wanted to see for themselves. Just how deep were Hwasan’s reserves, when it was said to have handled most of Cheonumaeng’s supplies throughout the war? Was it capable of turning its present superiority in strength and justification into financial superiority as well?
“…From what I have seen so far, they seem more than capable.”
“My thoughts are no different.”
They were not saying so merely because of the expensive items visible around them.
Just as they had arrived in haste, Hwasan must also have had little time to prepare. Was that not only natural, considering how little time had passed since the war ended?
And yet they had managed preparations of this caliber in such a short period of time? That meant Hwasan’s resourcefulness was far greater than they had imagined.
“We have no choice but to acknowledge it.”
“Hmm.”
Hwasan’s power had now risen to a level beyond anyone else’s control. Even setting everything else aside, as long as there was no martial artist capable of opposing Hwasan Geomhyeop, no sect would attempt to challenge Hwasan for quite some time.
The only question that remained was whether Hwasan possessed the ability to turn that power into wealth, and they had now witnessed Hwasan’s capabilities with their own eyes.
In that case, there was no reason to oppose them and make an enemy of them.
“We should cooperate with them as much as possible.”
“I share the same thoughts.”
“Hmm.”
While the Sect Leaders actively exchanged their thoughts, a faint trace of contempt crossed the face of one man who had remained silent.
‘How pathetic.’
Amid the Sect Leaders pondering how best to win Hwasan’s favor, the man soon rose from his seat as though he could bear it no longer.
‘As though people were truly so simple.’
Silently brushing back the graying hair that had fallen across his face, Hyeok Sawol [혁사월(赫詞越)], the Sect Leader of Johwamun [조화문(調和門)*], made his way outside.
Hwasan has everything. Power, legitimacy, and capability.
But whether people would accept Hwasan’s rule was another matter entirely.
‘Gangho belonged to Shaolin, to Wudang, and also to Namgung. That is a fact that has remained unchanged for generations. And now, will people truly allow Hwasan’s name to be placed among them?’
It was not simply a matter of what was right or proper. It was a matter of the concepts people already held.
Even those currently speaking of Hwasan’s ascendance would immediately change their tune and begin tearing Hwasan down the moment they saw the slightest opening. For no one liked seeing the number of those who stood above them increase.
The instant even the smallest crack appears, the world will move with unmatched ferocity to drag Hwasan down from its lofty position.
‘But for now, there is no opening.’
If only there were a single opportunity to break Hwasan’s momentum as it cut through every obstacle with swift decisiveness…
“You seem lost in thought.”
At the unexpected voice, Hyeok Sawol turned around. The face of the man approaching him looked familiar.
“You are… Sect Leader Cho?”
Hyeok Sawol raised an eyebrow at Cho Geosan [초거산(肯巨産)] as he approached him with a smile.
“You were still alive?”
“Haha. That is remarkably rude for a greeting, Hyeok Hyeong.”
“Hyeok Hyeong, is it.”
Hyeok Sawol clicked his tongue.
Come to think of it, there had once been a time when the two of them had called each other brothers. But they had gone so long without any contact that such familiarity now felt awkward.
“Still, perhaps asking whether I was alive was the appropriate question. After all, most of our generation has either retired or ended up in a coffin.”
“Indeed.”
Had Hyeok Sawol possessed a worthy successor, he too would have washed his hands of worldly affairs long ago. But since he did not, what choice did he have? He had been forced to drag his aged body all the way here.
“But Hyeok Hyeong. Even so, isn’t it a little frustrating to be treated as nothing more than a receding wave pushed aside by the next one?”
Hyeok Sawol shook his head as though drawing a clear boundary between them.
“I do not know what you are plotting, but I have no interest. To begin with, the present situation is not something your abilities can alter. Not even if you were once known as the Hundred-Faced Fox [백면호리(百面狐狸) – Baegmyeon Hori].”
Cho Geosan, once called the Hundred-Faced Fox, smiled faintly.
“What an interesting thing to say.”
“What is?”
“Is it not obvious? To my ears, Sect Leader, your words sound as though you would like to overturn the board yourself, provided only that you possessed sufficient ability.”
Hyeok Sawol frowned.
“You have not changed.”
“Sect Leader Hyeok.”
Cho Geosan, the Hundred-Faced Fox, smiled pleasantly.
“Well then. If I did possess such ability, would you be willing to help me turn the situation around?”
“As I said, you possess no such ability.”
“And what would you do if I did?”
“What means could you possibly have?”
“You ask the obvious. What is a fox’s greatest talent?”
“Talent?”
Hyeok Sawol asked back, sounding faintly irritated, only to flinch a moment later.
“The fox borrowing the tiger’s might**? You mean to rely on someone else’s authority?”
“As expected of Sect Leader Hyeok. You understood immediately.”
“But whose authority could you possibly mean? Who in the world today possesses enough power to stand against Hwasan?”
“In terms of factions, none. But…”
“But?”
“What if it were a person?”
At the sound of another voice behind him, Hyeok Sawol turned his head.
“N-No, you are?”
Shock spread across Hyeok Sawol’s face.
“S-Shin Gun. How are you here…”
The elderly man who had appeared behind Hyeok Sawol, Yeo Mugwang [여무광(呂無曠)], the Illusory Phantom Divine Lord [환영신군(幻影神君) – Hwan-Yeong Shin Gun], smiled faintly.
Special Spinoff Chapter 50 >>>
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*調和 – means harmonious, well-matched, harmoniously blended together etc.
**호가호위(狐假虎威) – to use powerful connections to intimidate/manipulate people. This was in the dictionary so I may as well just put this story here for fun: The tiger, which hunts and eats all the animals, caught a fox. The fox said, “Don’t you dare eat me. Heaven made me master of all the animals. If you eat me now, you will go against Heaven’s will. If you don’t believe me, I’ll go in front of you and you can follow me. Observe whether the animals can see me and dare to not run away!” The tiger believed that this was true, so he followed behind the fox. Whoever saw the tiger ran away. The tiger did not know that the animals were running away because they were afraid of him, and he thought that they were afraid of the fox.
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