Chapter 43
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Mount Hua Sect on the Move (2)
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‘So that’s the Zixia Divine Sword.’
Jinmyeong gazed steadily at the Zixia Divine Sword, Maejin Pung.
‘The novel described him as an incredibly upright person…’
But contrary to the novel's depiction, he seemed exceedingly sly.
‘Should I assume this is all a facade?’
Was he hiding his true nature? Or did his personality change when he fought?
The novel described Maejin Pung as someone who, once a battle began, would cut down his enemies with a blank expression, without uttering a single word.
‘And he was someone who was very favorable toward the protagonist, Gang Muhwi.’
When Gang Muhwi first joined the Righteous Alliance, he had no background, so he was constantly looked down upon by others.
His martial arts grew stronger, and he successfully completed missions, achieving results, yet he couldn't secure any key positions.
The Alliance Leader tried to give Gang Muhwi more important roles, but the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families opposed it.
Amidst all that, there were a few figures who were favorable to Gang Muhwi, and the Zixia Divine Sword, Maejin Pung, was one of them.
‘Though he had ulterior motives in the end.’
The Zixia Divine Sword, Maejin Pung, is a member of the secret organization that appears at the very end.
He had continuously supported Gang Muhwi to raise him as a pawn.
‘Was it because he believed he was stronger, but joined because he was pushed out of the Ten Kings by the reputations of Wudang and the Namgung Clan?’
The Mount Hua Sect tried its best to surpass the Wudang Sect and the Namgung Clan with the sword, but in the end, they couldn't change the world's perception.
In the end, instead of the Zixia Divine Sword, Wudang's Taiji Sword King and the Namgung Clan's Azure Sky Sword King became part of the Ten Kings.
Enraged by this, the Zixia Divine Sword was approached by that organization.
‘But what was the exact name of the organization again? Heaven Beyond Heaven? Something like that?’
It appeared near the very end of the novel, and by then, my interest had waned, so I only skimmed it and don't remember it well.
‘That's not what's important right now.’
He would find out the name of that secret power eventually.
What was important now was the Zixia Divine Sword, Maejin Pung.
‘It would be good to kill him now if I could…’
But unfortunately, with Jinmyeong's current strength, he couldn't kill him.
No, even if everyone here combined their strength, they wouldn't be able to kill him.
It might be different if Maejin Pung were alone, but the first-generation disciples of the Mount Hua Sect were also glaring at them, on guard.
‘And it's not good to kill someone just because you can.’
Not only was it a situation where he couldn't be killed, but he shouldn't be killed either.
After all, Maejin Pung was a necessary character for the protagonist Gang Muhwi's growth.
Thanks to Maejin Pung, the Alliance Leader was able to entrust important missions to Gang Muhwi, which in turn gave Gang Muhwi many opportunities to find fortuitous encounters.
“What will you do? It seems it would be easier for both of us if you accept the offer.”
Jinmyeong thought the Zixia Divine Sword was truly self-centered.
‘But with power, it can't be helped.’
One might think only the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult believes might is right, but in the end, all martial artists try to solve things with strength.
Those of the righteous factions might seek justification by considering the cause a bit more, but ultimately, the one with power was the one who was right.
“What happens if we refuse?”
“Well. Why don't you try refusing?”
As the Zixia Divine Sword's smiling face hardened, the atmosphere rapidly grew heavy.
The members of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and the disciples of the Mount Hua Sect alike tensed up, their hands moving to their respective weapons.
“Then I suppose we have no choice.”
At Neungbyeokmun's words, Maejin Pung let out a smirk and drew his sword.
“It seems you have no intention of accepting my offer.”
“That is correct. No matter if you are Mount Hua, you have no justification to attack us.”
“True. Disciples of Mount Hua did die, but there's no proof it was you.”
There was no concrete evidence that the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult had attacked the Yuk Family Escort Agency.
There was only suspicion.
“Aren't you feeling burdened, in fact?”
Lord Neungbyeokmun of the Demonic Shadow Brigade instantly grasped Maejin Pung's psychology.
How could he not feel burdened?
Killing those before him would not be difficult.
But he didn't have the confidence to handle the fallout.
‘If only I had concrete evidence.’
Then he could have received help from the Righteous Alliance.
He wasn't confident he could handle the wrath of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, but he couldn't just let them go like this either.
That would be a tremendous blow to his pride.
“In that case, how about this?”
Without hesitation, the Zixia Divine Sword began to make another offer.
“Who is the New Demonic Sword Controller?”
At the mention of the New Demonic Sword Controller, everyone's gaze turned to Jinmyeong.
‘A title I'd rather not hear.’
Jinmyeong frowned as all eyes focused on him.
Not only was the title somewhat cringey, but being singled out by a master like the Zixia Divine Sword was also burdensome.
“How about this? The New Demonic Sword Controller receives a single strike of my sword.”
“You'll act according to the result?”
“Not quite. If the New Demonic Sword Controller can just withstand the attack, I will clear the way.”
Retreating like this would be a blow to his pride, but he couldn't attack the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult without any proof.
However, if he could take the head of the New Demonic Sword Controller—the one Kunlun and Kongtong warned to be most wary of—then the story would change.
The Mount Hua Sect would preserve its pride, and they could appease the spirits of their disciples by having killed the future of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
“Fine.”
And without a moment's hesitation, Neungbyeokmun nodded and accepted.
“I never agreed to that.”
Jinmyeong glared at Neungbyeokmun, who had accepted the offer without any regard for his wishes.
“You're going to accept such an unreasonable demand? This seems like an offer we could obviously refuse.”
“We have no choice. We must complete the Cult Leader's command.”
The Zixia Divine Sword's offer was clearly unreasonable.
But to Neungbyeokmun, the most important thing was the Heavenly Demon's command.
He considered it natural to sacrifice Jinmyeong rather than clash with the Mount Hua Sect and fail to complete the command.
‘Is he acting like this just because we argued once?’
Jinmyeong recalled the time at the Yuyun Escort Agency when he had clashed with Neungbyeokmun to steal the treasure.
It was enough to make him wonder if the Lord of the Demonic Shadow Brigade was holding a grudge from that time and seeking revenge.
“Lord. The Vice Cult Leader will not stand idly by.”
Shin Yehyang also opposed Neungbyeokmun's decision.
If he were to simply die in battle, the Vice Cult Leader would probably think that was the extent of Jinmyeong's abilities.
However, it was unlikely that the Mad Demon would remain still after hearing that Jinmyeong was sacrificed to avoid a fight with the Zixia Divine Sword.
“I will take responsibility for that. With my life, if the Vice Cult Leader wishes it.”
Neungbyeokmun looked at Shin Yehyang with a resolute expression.
“But for now, the Cult Leader's command is the priority.”
If he could complete the Heavenly Demon's command with his own life, Neungbyeokmun would gladly offer his neck.
Thus, he couldn't understand Jinmyeong's refusal or Shin Yehyang's opposition.
“Not everyone is like you, Lord.”
“But if it's necessary, it must be done. We can't just stand here forever, can we?”
The one who responded to Shin Yehyang was not Neungbyeokmun, but Mok Jagyeong.
“I feel sorry for the youngest, but it must be done, right? We can't all die here.”
As if agreeing with Mok Jagyeong's words, the others also gave small nods.
Although they couldn't say it out loud, they wanted to get out of this place quickly.
“If I keep refusing, you'll probably cut off my head and offer it to them.”
“Surely not.”
Despite Jinmyeong's cold, sunken voice, Mok Jagyeong was still smiling cheerfully.
‘If it were me and someone else had been chosen, I'd probably be acting just like them…’
Unfortunately, Jinmyeong was the one involved.
He roughly threw his luggage to the ground and gathered his swords.
‘You'd better hope I die here.’
Because if he survived, he had no intention of living and laughing with those who had condoned this situation.
“You have spirit.”
“It's more accurate to say I was dragged out here against my will.”
Jinmyeong let out a sigh.
“More importantly, is the Sect Leader of Mount Hua allowed to be this unreasonable?”
“Such a young brat has a sharp tongue.”
“You're going to kill me anyway, so why are you all so sensitive about informal speech?”
Jinmyeong smirked at the Zixia Divine Sword.
“You called me over to kill me. Did you expect me to say something like, ‘Oh, Senior. Thank you for choosing me’?”
The Zixia Divine Sword was speechless.
When had he ever heard such words?
“You're my enemy, what's the point of demanding courtesy?”
“Hmm. I see. You're right.”
Just as Jinmyeong said, there was no need to be polite to an enemy.
He intended to kill him anyway.
“But you seem to think you won't die.”
“We'll see.”
Jinmyeong gave a vague answer, but the Zixia Divine Sword could see a glimmer of confidence in him.
The confidence that he could block his attack.
“Then let me ask you. Why are you being so unreasonable? Even if I don't block your attack, you can't do anything to us anyway.”
“Correct. As you said, Mount Hua has no justification to stop the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.”
He had made this offer to kill the New Demonic Sword Controller, who could be called a rising star of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, but from the cult's perspective, it was fine not to accept it.
Just as Jinmyeong said, the Mount Hua Sect wouldn't be able to attack the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
“But in the end, didn't you accept my offer?”
“That's why they're idiots.”
If they had thought a little more and just held their ground, the Mount Hua Sect would have eventually backed down.
But the Lord of the Demonic Shadow Brigade, Mok Jagyeong, and the other cult members couldn't stand it and ended up pushing Jinmyeong before the Zixia Divine Sword.
“Was this your plan from the beginning?”
“Haha. Surely not.”
Seeing Maejin Pung's sly laugh, he became certain that he had been the target from the very start.
He had asked to see their luggage knowing they would refuse, and then used that as a pretext to demand Jinmyeong.
“I think it's time we stopped talking.”
The Zixia Divine Sword Maejin Pung's face turned serious.
“Then, receive this well.”
There was no particular signal.
After uttering just those words, Maejin Pung swung his sword.
A flash of purple sword energy flew toward Jinmyeong.
*Boom!*
After blocking the Zixia Divine Sword's strike, Jinmyeong's body staggered greatly.
Withstanding the Zixia Divine Sword's power was certainly no easy task.
‘He's not said to be on par with the Three Revered and Ten Kings for nothing.’
Even though four swords were layered together to block the Zixia Divine Sword's attack, Jinmyeong still felt the impact.
*Cl-cl-clang!*
The Zixia Divine Sword's hand began to move.
Following his hand, the sword moved at high speed, starting to strike away Jinmyeong's controlled swords.
Jinmyeong quickly gathered the deflected swords to block the Zixia Divine Sword's path, but their movements gradually began to slow.
“You said it was just one strike!”
Of course, one strike didn't necessarily mean a single attack, but wasn't this too long to be considered a single form?
“Isn't it one strike only when you've blocked the attack?”
“Don't you think that's unreasonable?”
The Zixia Divine Sword's words were unreasonable.
After all, Jinmyeong had used his controlled swords to block the Zixia Divine Sword's attack.
But the Zixia Divine Sword spoke as if he would only acknowledge it as one strike if Jinmyeong blocked it with his own body.
‘I'm weak, so I can't do anything about this unreasonable demand.’
If Jinmyeong had been stronger than the Zixia Divine Sword, he wouldn't have been able to make such an unreasonable demand.
No, if that were the case, the Zixia Divine Sword wouldn't have even set the condition of receiving one of his strikes.
All of this was happening because Jinmyeong was weak—or more accurately, because he was just strong enough.
‘First, I need to create some distance.’
Jinmyeong stomped his foot and retreated backward.
“Where do you think you're going!”
But the Zixia Divine Sword, as if determined not to let him escape, rushed toward Jinmyeong at incredible speed.