Chapter 51: Those in a Bad Mood
The name of Yeon Cheong-un, which was mentioned at the meeting of the Nine Sects held in Shaolin, did not easily fade.
Although it was unbelievable that a young expert who used a fierce Shaolin Fist also employed a highly proficient Wudang Fist, there were too many eyewitnesses. Moreover, because each and every one of them was a rising star who would lead the future of their respective sects, it was hard to doubt their discernment.
Although the Wudang Sect denied it at the meeting since it was a baffling matter for them, even they felt that the assumption that the young expert named Yeon Cheong-un had a connection with the Wudang Sect was gaining weight.
Therefore, as soon as the Wudang Sect leadership returned from Mount Song, they searched the Wudang Sect registry.
“He is not here.”
“As I thought, it was a mistake. Although boasting the method of transferring and grafting while utilizing neutralizing force is Wudang’s specialty, is such a martial art exclusive to the Wudang Sect?”
However, the name Yeon Cheong-un could not be found anywhere in the registry of main sect disciples.
Just at that moment.
“He is here?”
“He is?”
They found the name in the registry of lay disciples, which they had searched just in case.
“A lay disciple?”
“Does that make sense? They said he defeated the Nether Void Tremor Strike? On top of that, the opponent even consumed a Latent Explosion Pill to draw out his latent power?”
“With that level of talent, they should have promoted him to a main sect disciple long ago. What on earth is the Hall Leader of Wise Tao Hall doing?”
Since they said he was not a main sect disciple, although it was unpleasant, they could understand the situation to some extent. He was not even a main sect disciple, so who would refuse to be taken in by the Divine Monk?
The unpleasantness that arose thus naturally directed itself toward the Wise Tao Hall Leader.
It was not entirely unheard of for someone who entered as a lay disciple to have their talent recognized and become a main sect disciple. Therefore, examining the talent of lay disciples was an important duty of the Wise Tao Hall Leader.
Moreover, the content that followed was even more serious.
To be precise:
“Expulsion?”
“What in the world…?”
The leadership of the Wudang Sect became even more displeased.
Operating a power of the Wudang Sect’s scale required a significant amount of operating expenses. And it was also true that they admitted lay disciples for the purpose of partially covering those expenses.
However, for that very reason, they could not easily discard lay disciples. If they recklessly expelled disciples who were recruited with somewhat secular purposes to begin with, they would gain an infamous reputation of not behaving like an orthodox sect.
A lay disciple was still a disciple. Once a master-disciple relationship was established, fulfilling one’s responsibility toward them was an obligation that must be upheld as an orthodox sect.
“Who is in charge of Wise Tao Hall right now?”
“It is Je-hyeon.”
“Look into it.”
The displeased leadership of the Wudang Sect began to glare at Wise Tao Hall with cold eyes.
***
Shin Je-hyeon, the Hall Leader of Wise Tao Hall, had been having an upset stomach lately. It was because the things he had to worry about had increased recently.
The attention of the high and mighty was focusing on Wise Tao Hall.
Furthermore, the cause was also a problem.
“I heard there was a disciple named Yeon Cheong-un here?”
At the inquiry that came in once again, Shin Je-hyeon desperately maintained a smile. Feeling as though his true thoughts would slip out if he did not exert all his strength, he held on with all his might.
If it were a subordinate, he would have shouted and thrown a temper, but he did not have the guts to do that against the people sitting in the upper ranks.
Moreover, the person in front of him was not just any high-ranking official.
“The Inspection Hall Leader……”
“Is there a problem?”
“Ah, no.”
The Inspection Hall Leader of the Wudang Sect, no less. He was a person whom even elder-class figures, whose authority reached the heavens, treated with caution.
Even though they were both Hall Leaders, he was on a completely different level from Shin Je-hyeon.
Shin Je-hyeon spoke, feeling his blood dry up.
“Yes, there was indeed such a disciple.”
“There *was*?”
Raising the end of his words slightly while flashing a sharp gaze, the Inspection Hall Leader’s demeanor was unusual.
Although he tried his best to control his facial expressions, Shin Je-hyeon, who could not suppress the involuntary movement of his Adam’s apple, swallowed his saliva and spoke quickly.
“The name Cheong-un is quite a common name, after all. He is probably not the rising star the Inspection Hall Leader is looking for.”
“A namesake?”
“Yes.”
Despite being considerably tense, Shin Je-hyeon smoothly continued his words. This was because he had repeated this statement several times by now. Lately, the Inspection Hall Leader was not the only one rummaging through Wise Tao Hall.
Thus, Shin Je-hyeon also guessed the words that would follow.
“However, even if the name Cheong-un is common, the surname Yeon…”
“The Wudang lay disciple Yeon Cheong-un I know was a dunce who could not even properly master the Supreme Ultimate Fist when he left Mount Wudang.”
“Even the Supreme Ultimate Fist?”
The Inspection Hall Leader frowned deeply upon hearing Shin Je-hyeon’s words.
For a child who entered as a lay disciple to not even master the Supreme Ultimate Fist. This was as ridiculous as saying a Mount Hua disciple could not perform the Plum Blossom Sword Art.
“Not only that, he was also a petty child, to the point of using a cowardly underhanded trick of drugging his peer to win a duel.”
“Hmm! Cowardly and petty…”
“If such a fellow went out into the world and paraded around as a disciple of the Wudang Sect, there is no telling what kind of terrible things he might have committed.”
“He was a fellow who would tarnish the sect’s name if left alone?”
“Yes! That is why I expelled him with a heart-wrenching feeling! For the sake of Wudang! How could we keep such a piece of trash in the embrace of Wudang, which is clean without a single speck of dust!”
As he spoke further, Shin Je-hyeon altered the terms he used for Yeon Cheong-un. The term “child” soon became “that fellow,” preceded by modifiers like “cowardly,” “petty,” and “trash.”
“Hmm…”
The Inspection Hall Leader could not reach a conclusion.
If Shin Je-hyeon’s words were true, he was certainly a wicked child. It made no sense for the Divine Monk to take in such a child.
Moreover, if he were a dunce who could not even master the Supreme Ultimate Fist, it would be impossible for him to show the same skills as the rising star who was active in Shaolin.
It would be more accurate to view it as a namesake, just as Shin Je-hyeon said.
However, for Shin Je-hyeon to expel a lay disciple based solely on his own judgment was an abuse of authority.
“Can you take responsibility for what you just said?”
“I will wager my neck.”
Perhaps because it was after a shouting session, Shin Je-hyeon’s voice responding to the Inspection Hall Leader was unwavering.
“If you say so.”
The Inspection Hall Leader only turned around and withdrew after hearing Shin Je-hyeon’s boastful guarantee.
“Whew…”
Relieved, Shin Je-hyeon wiped his forehead with his sleeve.
The sleeve was drenched in sweat, showing how much pressure and weight he had felt.
“Damn it. What kind of dog shit is this…”
Curses naturally spat out of his mouth.
His Taoist demeanor was completely thrown into the trash.
“Look at the mess I’m in because of that bastard Yin Si-hoo.”
After getting thoroughly beaten while bullying that insignificant Yeon Cheong-un, he had made a pointless request and dragged him into it.
“No, no. There’s no way.”
Shin Je-hyeon, who was blaming Yin Si-hoo, painstakingly erased a thought that suddenly popped up.
“No matter what, even if his skills suddenly improved, how could it be possible for him to do such a thing in Shaolin? It’s a namesake. Without a doubt. It’s impossible.”
The excuses he had made to the Inspection Hall Leader. Shin Je-hyeon truly believed them.
Although the time when the name Yeon Cheong-un began to gain renown in the Martial World overlapped with the time Yeon Cheong-un was expelled and descended the mountain, Shin Je-hyeon dismissed it as a coincidence.
From Shin Je-hyeon’s perspective, it was something he could absolutely not accept. Even if undeniable evidence was presented to him, he would have dismissed it as a fabrication.
“By the way, that bastard Yin Si-hoo…”
Shin Je-hyeon, who did nothing but deny Yeon Cheong-un in his head, turned the arrow of his anger back to Yin Si-hoo.
“Shouldn’t he have bowed his head and come to see me by now? Damned bastard. While I am suffering like this.”
Shin Je-hyeon gnashed his teeth, thinking of the recent Yin Si-hoo.
After the unsavory incident occurred in Shaolin, Yin Si-hoo, who returned to the Wudang Sect, became somewhat strange.
The usual Yin Si-hoo would have boasted about what happened at the meeting of the Nine Sects’ rising stars and run his mouth off.
However, the current Yin Si-hoo was showing the exact opposite behavior.
He became quiet, and his atmosphere grew dark and heavy.
Some thought he was grieving over his brother’s death, but Shin Je-hyeon knew Yin Si-hoo well.
“A viper like him is probably pleased instead. Since he has become the sole successor to inherit the family.”
Yet paradoxically, because of that, Shin Je-hyeon had to swallow this boiling emotion alone.
“I’m going crazy, seriously.”
If Yin Si-hoo became the successor of the Defeng Yin Clan, he could not just cut ties with him like this.
As Wise Tao Hall was searched due to a strange namesake, the things Shin Je-hyeon had committed in the past were coming to light. Perhaps the connection named Yin Si-hoo could become a lifeline.
“Sigh…”
Ultimately, he had no choice but to endure.
Shin Je-hyeon let out a sigh and collected his breath.
“Wise Tao Hall Leader. Let us talk for a moment.”
While he was trying to calm his anxious inner feelings and catch his breath, another visitor arrived.
Shin Je-hyeon was sensitive to the direction of power. Thus, he knew the owner of this voice well. For it was the voice of the person he had to pay the most attention to in the Wudang Sect.
The Sect Leader of the Wudang Sect.
Shin Je-hyeon’s complexion instantly turned pale.
‘I think… I’m going to throw up!’
*Grumble!*
A sound like a hole had been punctured resonated from Shin Je-hyeon’s stomach.
***
Lately, Baek Seol-ah was not in a good mood.
It was due to the rumors reaching her.
“Just what on earth are you doing?”
Among the rumors drifting through the Martial World, the names of Yeon Cheong-un and Baek Mu-ho began to be mentioned.
Having one’s name drift in the Martial World meant they had experienced an event of that magnitude.
Yeon Cheong-un and Baek Mu-ho, who were not yet fully mature, were running wild in the harsh Martial World.
In Baek Seol-ah’s eyes, it was extremely dangerous behavior.
“Since Cheong-un wouldn’t go around causing trouble… it must be this fellow Mu-ho’s doing.”
Thinking about who the culprit behind this situation was, her younger brother, Baek Mu-ho, naturally came to mind first.
Baek Seol-ah’s delicate hand, which naturally clenched into a fist, emitted a cold energy.
“Just wait until you return.”
Had Baek Mu-ho heard it, he would have jumped in injustice, but since the conclusion was already decided, Baek Mu-ho’s defense was meaningless.
If there had been a letter sent by Baek Mu-ho from Hwaseong Village, perhaps a different verdict would have been handed down, but unfortunately, that letter had not yet arrived.
“Sigh.”
Slowing her anger internally for a moment, Baek Seol-ah slowly released her clenched fist.
“Fools. Causing nothing but worry.”
Getting angry, in the end, was also because she worried. In that sense, Baek Seol-ah knew well where the source of the emotion she expressed lay.
“Ahem!”
As if briefly opening a secret box hidden away from everyone, Baek Seol-ah, who peered into her own roots for a moment, blushed and coughed.
“Still, everyone does have eyes to see.”
A self-praising statement that anyone hearing it would call childish.
Feeling embarrassed even after saying it herself, Baek Seol-ah’s fair skin flushed red.
Thus, a smile settled on Baek Seol-ah’s face, which had been in a bad mood for a while, after a long time.
Until the sudden arrival of a visitor.
“Sister, it has been a long time.”
“What brings you here?”
“I had some business in this vicinity.”
The daughter of Jang Mun-gyeong, one of the Ten Great Swords under heaven who was said to be among the top ten swordsmen including Orthodoxy, Unorthodoxy, and Demonic Cult.
Jang So-wol, a prominent rising star renowned for her beautiful appearance as much as her martial arts skills, visited.
In the past, there was an exchange between her father, who was recognized for his talent in the sword, and Jang Mun-gyeong.
And also with her mother’s family.
A look of wariness appeared on Baek Seol-ah’s face.
Regardless, Jang So-wol approached warmly.
“Sister, you must know this vicinity well.”
“Why do you ask?”
“By any chance… do you know Young Hero Yeon Cheong-un?”
Blushing as if asking about something embarrassing.
“……Baek Mu-ho. Dereliction of duty.”
*Crack!*
The rough joint sound produced by Baek Seol-ah’s delicate hand as she muttered inaudibly under her breath revealed a strong presence.
***
Zhang Sanfeng, who was working, frowned as he looked at the mirror reflecting the Meridian Mirror placed on his desk.
“What is this fellow trying to do again?”
Although he was grateful that the fellow, who was proficient in techniques manipulating space, had made a dharma treasure allowing him to view the Meridian Mirror from anywhere, that was that, and this was this.
Whenever the Heavenly Demon wore such an expression, trouble always broke out. He was definitely plotting something.
“I feel like I need to prepare…”
In the heavens, no one touched the Heavenly Demon. Since he took charge of the dirtiest jobs at the bottom of hell, and his own strength was of a special kind, even Daluo Golden Immortals did not dare to treat the Heavenly Demon lightly.
If there were plenty of new recruits, it might be different, but the current heavens were suffering from a labor shortage.
Thanks to this, the Heavenly Demon, who took charge of the dirty and miserable work, often flexed his muscles against those above him.
“He is tricky. Especially since he holds a massive amount of causality.”
On earth, there is a giant power that reveres the Heavenly Demon.
Causality means cause and effect. Since humans are one of the greatest axes moving the world, the Heavenly Demon, who has influence over humans, possesses a strong causality.
“Within the scope of my knowledge, only one fellow comes to mind who can check this guy.”
Fortunately, there was a way.
“Well, I was thinking it was about time to talk to the higher-ups anyway.”
Finishing his work and stamping the departure register, Zhang Sanfeng headed somewhere.
A magnificent palace. Passing through its main gate, there was someone half-reclined on a dark throne.
Judging by his appearance, he was a boy who looked to be in his mid-teens. Despite such a build, he wore adult clothes, revealing his bare chest.
The boy cast a languid look at Zhang Sanfeng.
“What is it?”
“I’ve come to get some help, senior.”
“Senior?”
The boy on the throne, to whom everything in the world seemed bothersome, let out a strange smile at Zhang Sanfeng’s words.
“Although I once told you to call me that since we are from the same Mount Wudang… Hm?”
The boy, who was smiling with twisted eyes, suddenly stood up from his seat. The boy’s eyes fixed on Zhang Sanfeng’s hand.
“You brought something interesting, didn’t you?”
A divine light began to gather in the boy’s eyes, which had been full of languor.