Chapter 104: The Title of the World's Best (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 104: The Title of the World's Best (2)
“Isn't it better than simply wiping out the Orthodox Faction and unifying everything?”
‘...!’
My words, which could only be heard as arrogant no matter how one took them, caused the faces of the master and disciple, Baek Hyang-muk and Lee Jung-gyeom, to stiffen.
They wouldn't know this, but in truth, I didn't care what happened to the Orthodox Faction.
After all, I was someone who had died at the hands of the Orthodox Faction before my regression.
Furthermore, my biological father and maternal grandfather were from Peerless Fortress, and since I was currently responsible for the Blood Cult, I had no reason to feel any lingering attachment to the Orthodox Faction.
However, there was exactly one reason I intended to leave them be.
Yes.
If it weren't for Yeong-yeong, it would actually be easier to just destroy the Orthodox Faction right now.
But since Yeong-yeong belonged to the Hengshan Sect and held aspirations for the Orthodox world as the Vice Hall Master of the Phoenix Hall, I was taking this amicable approach.
Ultimately, for her sake, I intended to place the Orthodox Faction under my wing rather than letting them fall into the Golden Emperor’s grasp.
Baek Hyang-muk spoke to me in a heavy voice.
“...Do you truly think the Martial Alliance—no, the Orthodox Martial World—will collapse so easily?”
“As the former Alliance Leader, you must feel more clearly than anyone that the Orthodox Faction is no longer in its prime.”
“........”
At my words, Baek Hyang-muk fell silent.
Starting from the death of the former Chief Strategist, Zhuge Won-myeong, the Martial Alliance had already changed.
As the former leader, he would feel that shift more tangibly than anyone.
I pushed even harder.
“If you truly cannot believe it, you are welcome to test me. However, you will have to pay the price for that in some form.”
Could they really deny my words?
These two had just witnessed me leveling a mountain with their own eyes.
If I set my mind to it, I alone could deal a devastating blow to the Orthodox Martial Alliance.
And if the Blood Cult and Peerless Fortress were to move simultaneously...
I suppose so.
Just as the Blood Cult once did, the Orthodox Faction would face total ruin this time.
When Baek Hyang-muk struggled to find his voice, Lee Jung-gyeom spoke to me.
“Even if you were to become the Alliance Leader in such a way, what would happen if the people of the Orthodox Faction learned the truth? Do you think they would still follow you then, Brother So?”
I let out a short, dry laugh at his question.
“I’ll just have to make sure they never find out the truth.”
“...What do you mean by that?”
“It wouldn't be difficult if you and your master, the former Alliance Leader, helped me.”
Lee Jung-gyeom furrowed his brow.
Even as I said it, I felt like I was speaking like a quintessential villain.
Baek Hyang-muk spoke to me in a displeased tone.
“Do you truly think this old man and this child would help you?”
“Are you going to break your promise to grant me whatever I asked for?”
“Ha!”
Baek Hyang-muk clicked his tongue in disbelief.
He probably hadn't expected me to use that promise as leverage.
Lee Jung-gyeom, who apparently hadn't known about this, frowned and looked at his master.
“Is that true?”
Baek Hyang-muk replied with a sigh mixed into his voice.
“There was no other choice. At the time, I believed it was the only way to save you and the Martial Alliance.”
Lee Jung-gyeom’s face darkened at those words.
He seemed to think he had become a shackle for his master.
Lee Jung-gyeom bit his lip hard before speaking to me.
“I misjudged you, Brother So. I didn't know you had this side to you.”
“This side?”
“Using someone’s weakness as leverage to...”
“Hmph!”
I snorted at his words and looked back and forth between the master and disciple.
“You both are suffering from a severe delusion.”
“What?”
“Aren't those the kind of words one can only say when they have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of under heaven?”
“What on earth does that...”
Vroooooom!
“Ugh?!”
Startled by the intense killing intent erupting from me, Lee Jung-gyeom instinctively took a Qi Control Stance. Baek Hyang-muk did the same.
Regardless, I spoke to them.
“How many people have you killed with your own hands under the banner of justice, Baek Hyang-muk?”
Baek Hyang-muk’s brow twitched.
I continued.
“Your Orthodox Faction is the one that used their silver tongues to destroy the innocent Flying Moon Hero Sect of Peerless Fortress, despite them being upright enough to hold government office just to isolate the Blood Cult.”
Baek Hyang-muk’s eyes trembled violently.
Since that happened around the time the Great Orthodox-Evil War broke out, Lee Jung-gyeom knew nothing of it.
There were more than just one or two people sacrificed to the Orthodox Faction’s binary logic.
“That was...”
Seeing Baek Hyang-muk’s face, Lee Jung-gyeom’s expression also froze.
He must have realized from his master's reaction that my words were true.
“In this manner, the Martial Alliance—no, the Orthodox Faction—has driven countless people to their deaths under the pretext of driving out the Evil Faction. Can such people dare to speak of justice so casually?”
“........”
“And you, Baek Hyang-muk, also hid the Calamity Slaughter Sword to satisfy your own greed, and even covered up the fact that your disciple, Lee Jung-gyeom, killed numerous people while possessed by the sword's Brilliant Star.”
The more I spoke, the paler the two became.
Since I was ruthlessly stabbing at the shameful secrets they wanted to keep hidden, they must have been in psychological agony.
I looked at Lee Jung-gyeom and said, “Lee Jung-gyeom. Does the fact that you were possessed by the Brilliant Star erase the fact that you murdered innocent people?”
“I...”
“According to the logic of the Orthodox Faction, you would have nothing to say even if I killed you right now.”
With those words, I released my full internal energy.
A wind pressure akin to a typhoon erupted, shaking the forest and causing the surroundings to heave.
‘...!’
The expressions of the master and disciple hardened.
They knew all too well that if I set my mind to it, killing them would be a simple task.
Despite the crushing pressure, Lee Jung-gyeom forced himself to speak.
“...I will not deny it. I have never once thought that what I did would simply vanish. If you wish, I will reveal everything and offer my life in atonement.”
I raised an eyebrow at his words.
To call it a facade or a lie, Lee Jung-gyeom’s eyes were too steady, without a hint of wavering.
“Then why haven't you done so until now?”
“I had not yet found the one who murdered people while mimicking me, and I had not yet avenged my master. How could I have died before doing so?”
“........”
That was unexpected.
So he had been forcing himself to endure until he could kill his master’s enemy and the other Killing Fiend Jue Xin who was slaughtering people.
Somehow, I understood why he had seemed so listless about everything.
It seemed he had intended to take his own life once he achieved those goals.
Baek Hyang-muk also seemed to be learning of his disciple’s true feelings for the first time, as his eyes grew red.
He appeared ashamed of the situation he had created.
He said to me, “How could I let my disciple take all the responsibility? This old man will also take responsibility with his life.”
I suppose they are Orthodox to the core after all.
Watching them, I eventually withdrew my energy.
Then I spoke.
“I can't let that happen.”
“What?”
“I need you two to take responsibility.”
“Responsibility?”
Baek Hyang-muk asked back, looking at me as if he couldn't understand.
“Do you believe your lives are valuable enough to compensate for all those deaths and sins?”
“........”
“The Martial World I will create will no longer be bound by the labels of Orthodox and Evil, killing one another.”
At those words, the expressions of the master and disciple turned strange.
They clearly hadn't expected me to say such a thing.
Baek Hyang-muk, who had been momentarily speechless, asked me in a trembling voice.
“What is your true goal?”
I gave a short answer.
“Coexistence.”
“Coexistence?”
“The current system just needs to continue.”
“........”
“The essence of a martial artist is to build character through martial arts and to develop through competition. It is not to use that as a pretext to harm one another and satisfy one's own desires.”
That is the true essence of Martial Arts (武).
The goal should be constant self-discipline and the honing of one's martial prowess.
It must not become a tool for power and ambition.
Whether he understood my words or not, Baek Hyang-muk looked quite shocked.
“Even if I were to subjugate everything by force, once I am gone and the generations change, it will only lead to another cycle of blood feuds and war anyway.”
“Could it be that you...”
“I intend to break this foolish cycle.”
The current system should be maintained so that they can keep each other in check and develop.
Trying to destroy one side or the other has its limits.
“.........”
Baek Hyang-muk would understand my true intentions better than anyone.
After all, he had led the Orthodox Faction during its prime and was now witnessing its decline.
As if my words had reached him, Baek Hyang-muk, who had been wearing a contemplative expression, finally spoke.
“It seems this old man misunderstood your true intentions, Successor of the Sword Immortal.”
“Master?”
“He is right. Ultimately, if martial arts become a tool to harm others and seize power, it will only become a cycle that invites more blood.”
“Ah...”
“And just like now, those who seek to destroy a Martial World weakened by internal strife will continue to appear.”
He wasn't the Martial Alliance Leader for nothing.
Even though I hadn't said much, his insight was deep.
Having personally experienced the events that had unfolded, he must have fully realized that people like the Golden Emperor could appear at any time.
“How should this old man take responsibility?”
“Maintain the center so that the Martial World can achieve balance, develop, and coexist.”
“...Is that truly all I need to do?”
“Do I look like a man who says things twice?”
After staring at me for a moment, Baek Hyang-muk politely offered a fist-and-palm salute.
Then, he spoke with a voice full of sincerity.
“Please allow this old man to assist you in your cause, however lacking I may be.”
“I believe I already told you to do so.”
At my words, Baek Hyang-muk took a deep breath, looking like a man released from his shackles, and turned to his disciple, Lee Jung-gyeom.
Lee Jung-gyeom looked back and forth between his master and me with trembling eyes before speaking.
“Would I even have the right to do that?”
“I told you, your life isn't worth that much even if you die.”
“But even if I don't remember it, the blood of many is on my hands...”
“If you want to die that badly, I can kill you right now. But if it were me, I would fulfill my responsibilities to atone for those sins.”
“Ahhh...”
At my words, Lee Jung-gyeom’s eyes grew red as if he were overcome with emotion. Soon, like his master, he offered a fist-and-palm salute.
“Please allow me to help Brother So as well, just like my master.”
I nodded as if granting him permission.
Seeing them like that, the Sword of Lesser Conversation spoke.
What do you mean, left out?
This is how you have to handle so-called Orthodox people.
Do you really think I have such grand intentions as the coexistence or peace of the Martial World?
I never had such a lofty goal to begin with.
If I did, I would have tried to reform things as an Orthodox martial artist, not as a member of the Blood Cult.
Upright people like the former Alliance Leader Baek Hyang-muk or Lee Jung-gyeom will break before they ever follow you if you try to use force.
It’s more important to convince them than to use threats or deals.
Look at the result.
Moved by my mere words, they’ve volunteered to help me, thinking I have some grand vision for the Martial World, just like you did.
The Sword of Lesser Conversation clicked its tongue.
Regardless, I had made them stand on my side even though they knew my true identity.
And they did so from the bottom of their hearts.
This was a significant achievement.
Baek Hyang-muk has experience, so I’ll use him as the Vice Alliance Leader of the Martial Alliance.
As for Lee Jung-gyeom, even if I leave him alone, he’ll naturally become the Great Elder and lead the successors of the Orthodox Faction.
When that happens, they’ll manage the Martial Alliance well under my command, just like Baek Hye-hyang.
Call it a strategy.
This has already moved beyond the realm of petty tricks.
Anyway, now that I’ve brought them under my wing, I should proceed with my original purpose.
I called out to Lee Jung-gyeom.
“Brother Lee. Come here. I will remove the Brilliant Star for you.”
At my words, Lee Jung-gyeom spoke with a voice full of anticipation.
“Can you really get rid of it?”
“Would I have said so if I couldn't?”
If he had been completely dominated by the spirit fragment, it might be different, but at this stage, it didn't seem like I would be particularly affected as long as I absorbed it.
“I beg of you.”
Lee Jung-gyeom had suffered from guilt for a long time, possessed by the spirit fragment of the Calamity Slaughter Sword.
I placed my hand on the head of the approaching Lee Jung-gyeom.
Then, I activated the Heavenly Authority.
Woooooong!
The fourth of the Big Dipper dots on the back of my right hand shimmered with a blue light.
As I approached Lee Jung-gyeom’s soul, I immediately discovered it.
It was the bastard’s spirit fragment (Baek).
The resentment-filled fragment seemed to sense my presence, shrinking back and trying to hide.
I pushed the power of the Heavenly Authority even further.
The fragment struggled with all its might to hold on, but eventually, it was pulled out of Lee Jung-gyeom.
Shooooooo!
“Is this the Brilliant Star?”
Lee Jung-gyeom couldn't hide his shock at the sight of the black, flickering haze rising from his body.
His master, Baek Hyang-muk, was the same.
The black energy that had emerged was soon sucked into the dot of the Heavenly Authority on the back of my hand.
The moment the fragment entered, I was seized by a tingling sensation, as if I had been struck by lightning.
Ssssss!
The memories contained within the fragment began to play in my mind like a vision.
[Killing a guy like you is the only answer.]
[Wait...]
Slash!
It was a vision of me cutting someone down with a sword.
The moment I saw it, I knew exactly who this fragment belonged to.
‘Jagyeongjeong?’