Chapter 369: Upheaval (3)
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“There is no reason for me to dislike you. Is that not so?”
“That is so.”
“The one who washed away the disgrace left on the Mount Hua Sect by your master falling into deviation, and the one who took care of you after your master died, was none other than I. Therefore, should you not follow my words?”
“Is that not why I am here?”
Mae Su-il, once called the young crouching dragon of the Mount Hua Sect, was huddling his shoulders tightly, contrary to his fame.
The atmosphere of the Mount Hua Sect these days was terrible indeed. Separated from the faction that included the sect leader, they had been stripped of Falling Goose Peak, the symbol of the Mount Hua Sect, and currently driven out to Lotus Peak.
No matter how independently Gu Jinqing had expanded his forces, he could not overcome the sect leader and elders who were themselves the very justification of the sect.
Furthermore, there were many elders and disciples of the Mount Hua Sect who were dissatisfied with excessively pledging loyalty to the Imperial Palace and entering the Palace of Heavenly Worship. What exploded there was the cooperation with the Private Martial Union.
Of course, Muk Hui-yeong had fanned the flames in between, but the internal division of the Mount Hua Sect had been merely a matter of time.
In terms of scale alone, rather than a division, it was practically no different from Gu Jinqing’s faction being ousted. Because the people of the Mount Hua Sect had already roughly known about Gu Jinqing’s hypocrisy.
In the end, only Gu Jinqing and a few Daoists remained on Mount Hua’s Lotus Peak. And among them was Falling Blossom Sword Dragon Mae Su-il, a promising younger-generation talent representing the Mount Hua Sect.
‘Su-il. Why do you seek to follow that Gu fellow while suffering such persecution?’
Until the very end, the Sect Leader had tried to hold onto Mae Su-il. As a deeply rooted orthodox figure, Mae Su-il also found handing over the Mount Hua Sect to the Imperial Palace and cooperating with the Private Martial Union so repellent that it gave him chills.
Even so, the reason Mae Su-il remained was due to the words his master had left behind like a final will, rather than Gu Jinqing’s words.
‘A martial artist lives by gratitude and grudge, and dies by gratitude and grudge. Even if you receive a favor you do not relish, you must repay it; even if an unwanted grudge arises, you must return it.’
Before falling into deviation, those were the final words his master had left to Mae Su-il.
Because he remembered those words, no matter how much Gu Jinqing treated Mae Su-il coldly and used him like a pawn, he could not say anything.
Because in truth, it was true that Gu Jinqing had covered up his master’s misdeeds and taken Mae Su-il in to teach him.
Mae Su-il was still plagued with doubt. His master had ordinarily been a gentle and warm person. When teaching Mae Su-il, he had always taught with virtue, and Mae Su-il had responded in kind.
For such a person to suddenly suffer deviation and slaughter an entire village. It was utterly unbelievable.
Yet what could be done? The world was inherently a place where many incomprehensible things occurred.
‘All things will surely pass, my child.’
The words of his master, which he held like a golden maxim of life, came to mind.
Mae Su-il could only bow his head and do as Gu Jinqing instructed. Hoping that this hellish time would pass.
* * *
As soon as I arrived, I heard about the situation in Shaanxi first. Although I had been tracking and receiving reports on the situation in Shaanxi, Shaanxi right now was, from what I knew, undergoing rapid political changes by the day. It could not be more accurate than hearing it directly on-site.
“Gu Jinqing has been driven into a corner.”
“That’s how it should be viewed. We are currently in secret contact with the Mount Hua Sect Leader’s side as well. After all, the ones who ran rampant during the tragedy of the guiyou year were Gu Jinqing’s faction.”
“Even so, they must definitely be held accountable for being bystanders.”
“That should be so. Though they claim they had no choice due to being on the back of a tiger, they ultimately consented tacitly, after all.”
If the Mount Hua Sect converted over, it would indeed be a good thing for us. If they cooperated in capturing Gu Jinqing, we could also secure justification from the existing New Justice Association members in our own way.
“They say there are neither eternal enemies nor eternal friends in the jianghu. Those words fit perfectly.”
“Isn’t that simply what life is originally like?”
Cho Seo-gi clicked his tongue. Rather, it seemed he felt more pity that the Mount Hua Sect was dividing like this.
To be sure, they were people who had fought across generations. If those they considered worthy rivals self-destructed on their own, that in itself was something that took the wind out of their sails.
“Then once the behind-the-scenes negotiations end, they will go to strike Gu Jinqing.”
“Presumably so.”
“Will the Mount Hua people strike directly? They are martial brothers who spent decades together, after all.”
“Since it is their own shame, won’t they try to settle it themselves? Handing the sword hilt to someone else here would practically mean running away from their misdeeds. For orthodox figures, that is a disgrace. In any case, it means we only need to sit comfortably and enjoy the show.”
I fell into silent contemplation. It was natural that Cho Seo-gi thought that way.
In anyone’s eyes, Gu Jinqing’s faction was currently a rat in a trap. And the cat to catch that rat was already prepared.
Just as Cho Seo-gi said, the New Justice Association would merely need to sit back and reap the benefits. However, there was something catching in my throat like a fishbone.
“What about the Palace of Heavenly Worship? A reaction would be expected.”
No matter how much the Palace of Heavenly Worship was in turmoil from internal fractures, the Mount Hua Sect was its core.
Of course, in my opinion, the Palace of Heavenly Worship was already an organization in name only.
Su Je-heon merely wanted to create the orthodox faction he envisioned by borrowing the power of the Imperial Palace. It meant he would not offer up the orthodox sects to the Imperial Palace as the Imperial Palace intended.
Since Su Je-heon, the core of the Palace of Heavenly Worship, held such thoughts, I did not believe that organization was functioning properly.
Someone like Su Je-heon would likely discard the Mount Hua Sect without batting an eye. Because he was someone who did not particularly like the Nine Great Sects.
“There has been no particular reaction from the Palace of Heavenly Worship either.”
“Is that so? Then I have come in vain.”
“Haha. What do you mean? Now that you have come, Zhongnan is bustling with vitality for the first time in a long while.”
“I am not such a refreshing person as to breathe vitality into someone.”
“Didn’t you feel it while walking around? The elders must have sent passionate gazes your way.”
“Ah.”
Only then did something come to mind. The ones I had given collective enlightenment to were the young disciples of the Zhongnan Sect.
Naturally, that story had spread to the elders of Zhongnan as well, and accordingly, everyone seemed to want to share even a word with me. Because I had accompanied the Sect Leader and moved about busily, no one had struck up casual conversation, but I could tell from their expressions.
“Then since there is nothing in particular to do, shall we gather the elders and hold a discussion?”
“Nothing could be better.”
Cho Seo-gi’s eyes gleamed. Since Cho Seo-gi was also someone who had directly experienced the depth of my martial arts, he seemed immensely delighted that I was setting aside separate time.
“However, this time I shall use a somewhat different method.”
“A method?”
“With the disciples, didn’t I merely speak and demonstrate? I am saying I will not stop there.”
“……Then?”
Cho Seo-gi looked at me intently. It was a gaze that could not suppress the leaking anticipation no matter how much he tried to restrain it.
“Yes, I shall cross hands directly.”
“Ohh. Would you truly do that for us?”
Judging by his joy, Cho Seo-gi seemed to have secretly desired that in his heart.
There was something I clearly realized right now. Cho Seo-gi was finding me difficult to approach.
Whether it was because I stood in the position of New Justice Association Master, because I had defeated the Eight Exalts, or because I had imparted enlightenment to the disciples, I did not know. What was certain was the fact that he was minding my reaction.
Even so, telling Cho Seo-gi to stop minding my reaction could also become a form of disrespect, so I would not mention it.
I had simply become a person of that stature. A person before whom even the Sect Leader of the Zhongnan Sect walked on eggshells.
“If you are fine with it, I shall convey it to my martial brothers immediately.”
“Please do so.”
Cho Seo-gi left the room with a beaming smile. It truly gave a sense of how times had changed. To spar with the elders of Zhongnan, and for them to regard it as a fortuitous encounter. Just a few years ago, they were people who would not have crossed blades with me even once.
In any case, crossing blades with the elders of Zhongnan was meaningful to me as well. Because I had not had a proper fight since purchasing the Grade 2 talents.
One always needed time to adapt after purchasing talents, and it was best to finish that adaptation before an actual battle if possible.
And just as it had happened several times before, I had a premonition. That the absorption and merger of the Mount Hua Sect would not proceed so smoothly as Cho Seo-gi said.
I had no concrete basis to be certain myself. However, the intuitions that visited after the upper dantian opened had always proven correct. Therefore…… they could not be ignored.
Indeed, before long, Cho Seo-gi called me out to the outdoor training grounds.
“It seems almost all the elders residing at the Xi’an branch have gathered.”
“Naturally. One would not be a martial artist if one missed an opportunity like this.”
Cho Seo-gi laughed heartily. Seeing that they had all come out like this despite having their own personal duties, they seemed to expect a great deal from sparring with me.
Of course, looking with the Heavenly Eye, people who were half in doubt also entered my sight. I understood. No matter how much the Sect Leader and disciples spoke in unison, it was something difficult to believe easily.
“Thank you for coming out in such numbers.”
I cupped my hands first. Because this sparring was meaningful to me as well, I conveyed my gratitude.
All the elders of Zhongnan also bowed their heads and cupped their hands. Gentleman Sword Yeom So-cheon stepped forward as the representative of the elders.
“We are grateful for Association Master’s generosity.”
“Generosity, you say. I dread anyone hearing that. What is exchanging blades between martial artists, after all?”
“For a master of Association Master’s caliber to cross blades is truly a fortuitous encounter. That is simply what your standing has become now.”
“Has not the Gentleman Sword already crossed swords with me before?”
“The Association Master back then and the Association Master now are different. I can feel it as well. You have truly become a giant of the martial world.”
Yeom So-cheon’s words contained praise to an overwhelming degree. But I was the only one feeling embarrassed; the other elders, including the Sect Leader, were all nodding their heads.
Being human, I did not dislike receiving praise, but it was gradually becoming somewhat burdensome, so I changed the subject.
“Let us proceed right away.”
“Good.”
From then on, I engaged in sparring with other elders, including Gentleman Sword Yeom So-cheon. After each spar, we reviewed the bout and shared a discussion about it.
Certainly, time was needed to adapt to the talents. In particular, the newly purchased talent of Divine Footsteps was so fast that it was difficult to manage at first.
The Zhongnan elders at the Xi’an branch numbered barely over five, but because we conducted discussions after concluding the spars, it took quite a long time.
They were blocked by their respective walls, and I provided clues to break those walls. Wondrously, because I stood in a higher realm than them, the parts where they were obstructed were clearly visible.
At this point, people treating me as a walking fortuitous encounter was not entirely groundless.
Thus teaching martial arts and having time to adapt myself, I spent a somewhat leisurely time. Yet even while spending that time, the feeling of a fishbone caught in my throat remained unchanged.
And before long, the identity of that unease was revealed.
It was the news that Gu Jinqing’s faction, which had been driven out to Lotus Peak, had seized Falling Goose Peak once again.
That meant that the side in contact with the Zhongnan Sect had been defeated in Mount Hua’s civil war.