Chapter 13 - A Third-Rate Warrior Defending His Sect's Honor (7)

Fundamentally, why could the Iron Sword Sect not enter the 108 Peaks? They lacked justification.

The 108 Peaks was a position akin to a symbol of the Murim Alliance.

Five hundred years ago, with the emergence of the Demonic Cult, the Orthodox sects scattered throughout Jianghu gathered together, enduring their own sacrifices, to form the Murim Alliance.

The Nine Sects and One Gang, along with the Five Great Noble Clans, formed its core. It was an accolade for the allied sects that joined the Murim Alliance thereafter and shed their blood.

The sects that had continuously maintained their position in the 108 Peaks for five hundred years made up a third of the total 108 Peaks.

For a sect within the 108 Peaks to be replaced, there had to be an equally great justification.

Then, what about the Murim Alliance that decided such matters?

Although the Nine Sects and One Gang and the Five Great Noble Clans established themselves as absolute spheres of influence and swayed the Murim Alliance, the Murim Alliance was not operated solely by the logic of absolute power.

In the end, what moved the Murim Alliance was also a grand battle of justification.

In that sense, Zhuge Somyeong had lost his justification and found himself in a difficult situation.

'Oh dear...'

As he reviewed the board orchestrated by the boy named Jin Sowoon of the Taiyi Sect step by step, pondering his intentions, he had missed the appropriate moment to step forward, and the sparks that flared from the Iron Sword Sect had scattered all the way to him, the Chief Strategist.

"Insolent! In whose presence do you dare spout such nonsense!"

Seong Cheonwol shouted furiously, but if anything, Zhuge Somyeong strongly wished he would just shut his mouth.

Because if the situation worsened like this, both the Iron Sword Sect and the Murim Alliance would be genuinely covered in shit.

"My father knelt all night to save my life, and the Iron Sword Sect Leader forced the sparring match to proceed even when their despicable plan was exposed. Yet, when that sparring match turned disadvantageous, he intervened in the bout."

Jin Sowoon pointed at Seong Mohyeon.

"At that man's claim of 'sorcery', the Iron Sword Sect Leader acted as if he had been waiting and drove the Taiyi Sect into being branded as a heterodox sect, and during all of this, the Murim Alliance did absolutely nothing."

Jin Sowoon's voice was filled with anger and resentment.

In truth, the lingering thought that he should have stepped forward back then still desperately weighed on Zhuge Somyeong.

"On what grounds should I sheathe my sword!"

The people in the audience all nodded their heads.

And then they looked at him, the man who was practically the representative of the Murim Alliance.

'Checkmate.'

No matter how much he thought about it, he could not consider the events that had just occurred to be a coincidence.

There was only one reason he thought so.

The boy named Jin Sowoon had never panicked, not even once.

He faced the conspiracy seemingly intended by the Iron Sword Sect head-on, and even though every surrounding circumstance was disadvantageous to him, he ultimately created a board favorable to himself.

Did it make any sense for a young man who had barely reached adulthood to remain completely unbothered upon hearing the term 'forbidden art'?

Jin Sowoon displayed his innocence with a confident demeanor, and on top of that, he had even roped the Iron Sword Sect and the Murim Alliance into his board.

But he could not just sit there marveling at him. If handled poorly, the Murim Alliance's name could be smeared with disgrace alongside the Iron Sword Sect.

What should he give him?

What must he give to quell the conflict between the Iron Sword Sect and the Taiyi Sect, and remind the people that the Murim Alliance was, as expected, the entity that established order in Jianghu?

Even a quick ponder yielded no ideas.

Because in reality, there was no such thing.

Even so, it wasn't as if there was no solution.

"... Then what is it that you want?"

All he had to do was pass the question over.

Whether he wanted the truth, an apology, or something else, if there was something he desired, he could just hand it over appropriately, appease him, and conclude the situation.

If the situation seemed well resolved, this incident would fade from people's minds just like that incident from twenty years ago.

However.

"I want the Iron Sword Sect Leader's head."

"...!"

Listening to Jin Sowoon's words, Zhuge Somyeong almost burst into laughter.

It was truly an unimaginable move.

An extraordinary move that pressured not only the Iron Sword Sect Leader but even himself, the Chief Strategist.

If this were a situation of playing janggi or Go, it was a move so astonishing it would make one want to flip the table.

Wanting the Iron Sword Sect Leader's head meant that he wanted a duel between the two of them.

Even if the boy named Jin Sowoon drew upon his innate qi, could he really manage to take the Iron Sword Sect Leader's head?

But if Jin Sowoon were to die by mutual destruction, he would become a martyr who laid down his life for his declining sect and family, while the Iron Sword Sect and the Murim Alliance would become Underworld thugs who disregarded ethics and justification to persecute a weak sect and force an unjust death.

This event would become a lasting political weapon, driving the Murim Alliance into a corner and bringing the Iron Sword Sect to ruin.

It was the moment a single person's life became equal in weight to the Murim Alliance.

'Hoho, to think there was such a figure in the Taiyi Sect?'

Although he was backed into a corner, overwhelming curiosity flared up rather than anger or panic.

It was to the point where he even wondered, *'What kind of display would that guy show in the Mantong Bureau?' *

'Then I cannot let him die here. For the sake of the Murim Alliance, that must not happen.'

* * *

"If you feel you have been insulted, you should repay it with an insult."

Zhuge Somyeong nodded, seemingly agreeing.

"But do you have the skill to do so?"

"I will surely exact the price in blood."

"..."

"..."

Zhuge Somyeong's gaze was profound.

A genius beyond geniuses.

If Yong So-ah was the unapproachable genius of the martial world.

Zhuge Somyeong was an entity akin to Yong So-ah in the scholarly world.

Zhuge Somyeong, who lost his life right before the outbreak of the Orthodox-Demonic War.

There was much talk in some quarters that if only Zhuge Somyeong had been there, the Murim Alliance would not have been torn to shreds like it was.

He was an entity that outstanding.

Zhuge Somyeong was already smoothly dodging the traps I had set.

"No, no. If that were to happen, we would be resolving matters through an unreasonable method, just like what you experienced."

As expected, he wasn't easy.

"Then there is another way."

"What is it?"

"Those three generations of scoundrels must perform a full-body prostration and apologize for everything that has happened thus far."

"... Hmm, but if we do that, we cannot confirm whether you have learned a forbidden art, can we?"

"Then do you have a solution, Chief Strategist? Opposition merely for the sake of opposition is a behavior fit only for politicians."

For some reason, Zhuge Somyeong seemed to be enjoying this situation immensely. I could see his lips twitching, forcibly holding back a smile.

"How certain are you, Sect Leader?"

At Zhuge Somyeong's question, Seong Cheonwol stuttered.

"Huh? T-That is..."

"Can you stake your sect's signboard on it?"

"What?!"

Seong Cheonwol undignifiedly raised his voice before quickly letting out a dry cough.

"Ahem. Chief Strategist. Discovering and uprooting forbidden arts is the natural duty of those of us in the Orthodox faction as we execute demons and eradicate evil. Why would I stake my sect's signboard on such a thing? If you truly insist I take responsibility, I will take responsibility with my sword as that boy suggested."

Unaware that he was caught in a spiderweb, Iron Sword Sect Leader Seong Cheonwol wildly twisted his body, and Zhuge Somyeong, seemingly frustrated watching him, abruptly yelled.

"Did I not already say that was the wrong method!"

"U-Uh, t-then..."

"How about the Sect Leader's divine weapon?"

Seong Cheonwol's eyes widened as he looked at the Ghost Sword Immortal Hero's Ninefold Sword hung in the center of the grand hall.

"T-That is."

"Are you uncertain, Sect Leader? I do not know what transpired at the banquet last night, but every situation I have observed today was absurdity itself, just as that boy said. Are you truly just hiding behind the Murim Alliance to commit despicable acts?"

At Zhuge Somyeong's words, the Iron Sword Sect Leader's gaze shifted between the pale-faced Seong Mohyeon and myself.

Following that, the sound of his teeth grinding could be heard.

"Fine. Let us do that!"

With his answer, the Iron Sword Sect Leader stomped heavily as he tried to approach me.

I raised a hand to stop him.

"I have a condition."

"Enough!"

"If we are to do this, we must do it properly. What if the Iron Sword Sect Leader conducts the examination himself, finds nothing, and yet insists I have learned the Great Star-Absorbing Art?"

"Do I look like such a person in your eyes!"

"Judging by your actions thus far, I think you are more than capable of doing exactly that."

Zhuge Somyeong nodded.

"Waiting for the Disciplinary Pavilion will take too long, and it will not do to let the Iron Sword Sect Leader's 60th birthday banquet be delayed further by unsavory affairs. I will check it personally. That should be enough for you to accept, yes?"

Slowly walking past the Iron Sword Sect Leader, Zhuge Somyeong approached me.

"You can settle your qi now."

I withdrew my innate qi and offered my right hand to Zhuge Somyeong.

Because the Great Star-Absorbing Art absorbed the qi of others, all sorts of different qi would exist within one's internal energy.

Because of that, confirming whether one had learned the Great Star-Absorbing Art was not a very difficult task.

"..."

Zhuge Somyeong's qi, which had gently probed my Dantian, disappeared in an instant.

"... Ahem."

Zhuge Somyeong, who had remained silent for a moment, looked at the Iron Sword Sect Leader.

The Iron Sword Sect Leader swallowed hard, feeling as though he were flipping the final card in a gamble where his entire fortune was at stake.

And then.

"This person has not learned the Great Star-Absorbing Art."

"Ah...!"

At Zhuge Somyeong's words, the Iron Sword Sect Leader and Seong Mohyeon wore expressions of disbelief.

"That cannot be! He has definitely learned the Great Star-Absorbing Art."

"M-May I check it myself?"

At the Iron Sword Sect Leader's words, Zhuge Somyeong furrowed his brow.

"Our founder's sword is on the line."

"..."

As Zhuge Somyeong took a step back, the Iron Sword Sect Leader snatched my hand and began to violently pump qi into me, rummaging through my entire body.

"W-Wait..."

Due to his violent astral qi, my blood vessels—already strained from drawing up my innate qi—began to run wild.

"Stay still!"

The energy thrashing through my entire body finally prodded my Dantian roughly, and the raging blood vessels eventually began to reverse their flow.

"Blegh."

Without any time to defend myself, heavy, thick blood surged up my throat.

The floor was quickly covered in the blood I spat out.

"What are you doing!"

"Sowoon!"

"This man, in the end!"

Startled, Zhuge Somyeong smacked the Iron Sword Sect Leader's hand away and attempted to strike my acupoints, but I continued to throw up blood.

Jin Taesan and Kang Chaeseok wore expressions as if they were ready to fight the Iron Sword Sect Leader to the death right that moment.

"How could this..."

The Iron Sword Sect Leader's face was one of disbelief.

Sensing that something was seriously wrong, Seong Mohyeon spoke desperately.

"It's not true! Grandfather! I definitely felt it. If not, there's no way I could have lost to him, right?"

"Shut up!"

I pushed away my father, who was supporting me, and tried to stand up and move forward.

"You must not stand up yet. You are not fully healed."

Zhuge Somyeong pressed down firmly on my shoulder, but I roughly pushed his hand away with my bloodstained hand.

"..."

"Sowoon!"

After barely rising to my feet, I also shook off Jin Taesan's hand.

Blood was still dripping from the corners of my mouth, and Seong Cheonwol and Seong Mohyeon were looking at me with appalled eyes.

"Pay... the price!"

I extended my hand.

"..."

"..."

"For this despicable act committed by you and your descendants... *cough*... pay the rightful price!"

My fingertips trembled violently.

The Iron Sword Sect Leader, unable to do this or that, was just furiously rolling his eyes in panic.

"Blegh!"

When I vomited a massive amount of blood once again, Zhuge Somyeong, unable to watch any longer, grabbed my hand and glared at the Iron Sword Sect Leader.

"Sect Leader, keep your promise."

"... Chief Strategist, how can you do this to me..."

"Making the promise with such certainty, and harming your opponent's body with violent astral qi—these were all your own actions, Sect Leader. Show responsibility and prove that you are an ally of the Murim Alliance!"

"... I will compensate for this incident, and on behalf of our sect, I will bestow three Iron Heart Pills upon that boy."

"Grandfather!"

The Iron Sword Sect Leader glared at Seong Mohyeon as if he were going to kill him.

"Open your mouth one more time, and I'll cut off that tongue of yours."

The Iron Sword Sect Leader spoke to Zhuge Somyeong as if pleading.

"A disciple of my sect made a grave mistake regarding this matter. Even so, the sacred token of our founding patriarch is not something that can be carelessly handed over to just anyone, is it? Wouldn't it be more beneficial to both our sects to settle this here?"

Zhuge Somyeong looked at me as if seeking agreement, and instead of answering, I gripped my sword.

"Then... I will have to collect the price in blood."

When I tried to push away even Zhuge Somyeong's hand, he yelled sharply.

"Iron Sword Sect Leader! As a member of the Murim Alliance, do you intend to smear mud on its name!"

At his stern, commanding shout, Seong Cheonwol's eyes flew wide open.

"I, the Chief Strategist, was present as a witness to this event. You framed an innocent person as a criminal, yet you refuse to pay any price? Do you truly wish to know the terrors of the Murim Alliance's Disciplinary Pavilion?"

"..."

Ultimately, lacking the confidence to withstand Zhuge Somyeong's wrath, the Iron Sword Sect Leader bowed his head.

"Bring me the Ninefold Sword."

Seong Jutak brought the Ninefold Sword over with trembling hands, and Seong Cheonwol accepted the sword and handed it out to Zhuge Somyeong.

And then Zhuge Somyeong placed the Ninefold Sword atop my hand.

"Is this enough now?"

With his words, I closed my eyes.