Chapter 45
Chapter 45
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: The Virtue of Transactions (5)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
There was something called momentum in any fight.
Be it sword fights, verbal clashes, or even kids throwing punches—momentum was always key.
Hwang Gyu's chosen method was simple.
Overwhelm them with the Ten Sword Sect's martial might from the very start.
When people got tense, their minds stiffened, leading to a string of mistakes. It dulled their flexibility.
But Murong Bi wasn't tense at all. If anything, he went further, verbally rebuking their faults first.
Caught off guard by the counterattack right from the opening, Hwang Gyu was still the sect leader.
"How dare you tarnish the honor of our sect with that devilish tongue! Do you think we'd ever deal with trash like the Black Tiger Gang?!"
"Oh? So our mighty Ten Sword Sect has no ties to a back-alley thug den like the Black Tiger Gang?"
"You bastard! Mind your words...!"
"Then why have you left the Black Tiger Gang alone all this time?"
Hwang Gyu felt his mouth go dry for a moment.
Murong Bi glanced around as he spoke.
"As you all know, I've been secretly practicing martial arts. Even with that level of skill, taking on the Black Tiger Gang alone wouldn't be hard."
The crowd nodded. Nearly half of those gathered had been there that day.
"If I could do it, do you think the Ten Sword Sect Leader couldn't? What about the sect elders?"
The crowd's eyes turned to Hwang Gyu.
"If nothing else, just sending those forces you dragged here would wipe out the Black Tiger Gang in less than half an incense stick's time. Yet this guy somehow let them be."
Murong Bi smiled.
"Guess you're not one of the orthodox sects after all."
The foremost value of the orthodox sects lay in chivalry.
Chivalry meant protecting the weak, standing tall before the strong, and opposing swindles and tyranny with mercy and justice.
It was embodying the moral ideals that human society universally aspired to.
No matter their temperament, anyone who made chivalry their guiding principle in action could be called a chivalrous warrior. Thus, even those with rough natures could be counted among the orthodox if they walked the righteous path.
Hwang Gyu panicked inwardly.
'These guys!'
Not only his internal energy, but his voice itself had an oddly compelling pull.
The way the crowd looked at him had changed.
He'd lived a life where paths cleared just by strolling with hands behind his back. Eyes filled with respect, fear, and awe had been the norm until yesterday. Now, everyone eyed him with suspicion.
He was furious, but he wasn't one to crumble so easily.
Flustered was just flustered. As sect leader, he'd guided the Ten Sword Sect for nearly twenty years.
"No need to listen to your nonsense. Enough with the lies—release my daughter now."
"You're saying something you shouldn't right now."
"What?!"
"You said you came to kill people from our house. Unless it was your order, does that mean this wench just went mad and barged in?"
Hwang Gyu shouted.
"What absurd slander! Why would my daughter go to kill you?!"
"That's what I'm asking because I'm curious. Did you order it? Or did your daughter go insane? What the hell happened?"
"Nonsense! You're slandering our sect!"
"Oh? So you're saying I personally stormed the Ten Sword Sect, kidnapped your daughter, and dragged her here?"
"...!"
"Or do you think I snuck up on your daughter on the street, tied her up without a trace, and brought her here? You have to pass through this very street to come from the Ten Sword Sect to our house."
Hwang Gyu's eyes wavered.
Murong Bi furrowed his brow as he spoke.
"Setting all that aside, what reason would our house have to accuse the Ten Sword Sect? Aren't you stronger than us? If you have no grievances, why would we pick a fight with a top contender among the infinite sects?"
"..."
"Use that well-oiled brain of yours. Do we seem crazy enough to frame the Ten Sword Sect? Or does everything I've said ring true?"
Hwang Gyu's fists trembled.
'That infuriating bastard!'
Even backed by the crowd's momentum, speaking so boldly to a powerhouse took real guts.
But more than guts, the kid's silver tongue was no joke.
'He's not the brainless troublemaker I knew!'
Murong Bi smiled.
Hwang Gyu's mind was spinning wildly. It was plain to see.
But so what?
'You can't do a damn thing.'
Was Hwang Gyu this flustered just because of his eloquence?
No.
Not entirely, at least.
His experience as a warrior who broke enemies' momentum with words and voice in countless battles, and as the Martial Alliance Leader who commanded tens of thousands of martial artists with a mere glance—they were huge assets.
But Hwang Gyu failing to respond properly was entirely his own fault.
'You're trying to cover up your mistakes, while I'm just dancing on the blade of exposed truth.'
Truth buried in darkness doesn't shine. It just stays buried with the shadows.
But pull back the curtain and drag it into the light—that's when truth wields real power.
Facts aren't always truth, but truth becomes fact as is.
The shell of facts containing the core of truth makes denial impossible. That was why Hwang Gyu kept dodging.
And amid his anxiety, his thinking had lost its flexibility— that was Hwang Gyu.
'If it were me, I'd have come alone.'
Hwang Gyu opened his mouth again.
"I say it clearly. I never gave my daughter such an order, and of course, she's not mad. That's the truth."
"Appearances aren't essence, but truth at least vouches for itself."
"Shut your mouth! I'm done tolerating the Murong house's schemes and pettiness! Release my daughter now and kneel! I'll reveal the truth boldly before everyone!"
Just as expected. Dangerous.
'Knew it.'
Hwang Gyu had called it the Murong house's schemes and pettiness.
Not just Murong Bi—he was targeting the entire family. His words reeked of intent to crush the whole house, not just one punk.
"To sum up, you never gave such an order?"
"Of course not! Do you think I'm mad...!"
"Then this ledger from the Black Tiger Gang leader is all lies too?"
"You call that words?!"
"So somehow I kidnapped your daughter, locked her up, showed up here to frame the Ten Sword Sect?"
Hwang Gyu ground his teeth.
No immediate denial came. Even he found it ridiculous.
But he couldn't back down here.
"I don't know what grudge you hold against us to slander our sect, but my daughter and I stand tall! Release her now!"
"Why dodge the last question?"
Killing intent flickered in Hwang Gyu's eyes.
He'd planned to kill the brat anyway, but now holding back was hard.
"Everything you say is a lie."
He denied it to the end.
Of course he would. Admitting it would turn the Ten Sword Sect from orthodox to a vile faction worse than the Black Tiger Gang.
"You're the one who needs to reveal the truth!"
"What truth?"
"You were a nuisance who only caused trouble. No one in this district doesn't know that!"
"Embarrassing..."
"And a dropout like you suddenly gets this strong? You think that makes sense?!"
Murong Bi smirked.
"Didn't you hear it from your daughter already? About our family's secret abode."
"Shut up!"
Hwang Gyu hurriedly cut him off.
"That immense internal energy unfit for your scrawny body! You can't gain that through a few years of training! You must have practiced demonic arts!"
The crowd gasped and stared at Murong Bi.
Demonic arts.
The hellish techniques that shattered the practitioner's character, drowning them in madness—turning them into demons the moment they began.
Not everyone who practiced demonic arts went mad or cruel, but they were taboo in the martial world regardless.
Especially for orthodox martial artists. If one from the righteous sects was caught, they'd be branded a public enemy, hunted down, meridians severed, dantian shattered, and thrown into a prison pit.
"Demonic arts?"
"Yes! Nothing else explains it! You expect us to believe some hidden master took a liking to your talent and took you as a disciple? Even then, you couldn't grow this strong so fast!"
Hwang Gyu's words carried intent.
Startle the opponent with the provocative term "demonic arts," while planting a seed of doubt—"Could it be?"—in people's minds.
And probe for third-party involvement. That's why he'd mentioned a hidden master.
But it was Hwang Gyu's mistake.
'Never seen a guy this helpful!'
Murong Bi's mouth split into a huge grin.
The flow was perfect.
This was the momentum he'd aimed for, and that cheerful idiot was paving the way himself.
A warrior never let opportunity slip.
"Even branding an innocent man a demonic arts user. If I didn't practice them, could I sue for defamation?"
"Shut up! So you're saying you've been hiding your training from everyone for years?"
Clearly aiming to paint him as shady too.
It meant nothing to Murong Bi.
"Obviously."
"W-what?"
"Do you know how much I hid myself just to keep tabs on scum like you who mock our house, steal from our businesses, and lurk like ghosts?"
Hwang Gyu was genuinely flustered.
The kid admitted it?
"Want to test it with your own body?"
"...What?"
Murong Bi tapped Hwang Jihwa's head with his staff.
Her face flushed crimson with humiliation.
"You're lying right now. To protect the Ten Sword Sect's honor, to cling to your power—you're desperately shouting that the obvious truth is false."
"Absurd...!"
"Right? From your position, you have no choice."
Whoooosh!
The staff spun from Murong Bi's hand.
With just finger movements, it whirled, leaving afterimages before stopping. Eerily skillful.
"Our talk was just going to drag on anyway, right? I think we've made our positions clear enough."
"...What do you want?"
"You want to catch and kill me, don't you?"
"..."
"I have no intention of forgiving you lot who tried to wipe out our house."
Thud!
The staff stamped the ground.
"Truth flutters in the air, and we warriors want different things. Only one way to settle it."
"You don't mean...?"
"I propose the time-honored martial solution: fight for the truth."
"...You want to duel?"
"Scared?"
Hwang Gyu let out a hollow laugh, as if exasperated.
"You're truly insane."
"The insane ones are you and your daughter."
"You bastard!"
"Need to check if I really practice demonic arts? Plus, it's your official chance to kill me."
"...Hah."
"That reluctant to fight? Can't explain why your daughter got caught, can't refute, and now too scared to face the scrawny troublemaker punk?"
Disgust seeped from Murong Bi's furrowed expression.
"You're actually weak, aren't you?"
The final taunt landed perfectly.
Hwang Gyu's rage exploded.
"You mad bastard! Get out here now!"